Li Shimin looked at it for a long time, frowned, and said: "Building roads is such a major event that consumes money and food. The king actually said that the court does not need to pay a penny, and all the Wang family in Taiyuan are gone, haha." Li Shimin turned the memorial over and transferred it.
He read it carefully several times, checked the signature and seal, and confirmed that it was written by Wang. He said incomprehensibly: "Is it possible that Uncle Wang is confused?"
Eunuch Gao said from the side: "Your Majesty, since the king's servant has such a kind heart, I feel that I can't let him down."
Changsun Wuji solemnly said: "Eunuch Gao, this is a serious matter and we must not be hasty. If Your Majesty agrees, how will he explain to the world if he cannot provide money or food?"
When Eunuch Gao heard this, he smiled sadly and said: "The memorial was written by Wang Shizhong himself, and it was clearly stated to share His Majesty's worries. How could such a virtuous and upright minister say what he said but not do it? This is deception.
It's your fault, it's impossible for the king's servants to behave like this."
The implication is that the words are what he said himself. If he can't do it, he is bullying the emperor. Is he bullying the emperor? Haha
It is naturally impossible for Changsun Wuji to argue with a eunuch. No matter how high the eunuch's position is, he is still a slave. He only thinks about things for the benefit of his master and does not consider the overall situation. But Changsun Wuji is different. He and Li Shimin
The relationship is that of a monarch and his subjects, not slaves. His starting point when considering things is his own interests first.
I don’t know why the king went crazy and wanted to spend money and food to build roads. For the court, this is of course a good thing. But for other noble families, it is not necessarily so. Originally, everyone was the same, relying on the court.
A big tree, to develop your own power, suddenly you, the Wang family of Taiyuan, jumped out and became a saint. What do you want other people to do? Is it possible that they should imitate you?
If you want to go crazy yourself, can you please not involve others?
"Your Majesty, I think you should be cautious about this matter. As far as I know, the Wang family in Taiyuan is different from other aristocratic families. The head of the clan only has a title. The real decision-maker is the elder of each house of the Wang family, called the elder. Everything is done
They all got together to discuss and decide. The money and food of the Wang family in Taiyuan is not something that Wang Shizhong can decide. Although I don’t know why Wang Shizhong got such a memorial, something is fishy. If Wang Shizhong can’t get the money and food, he will have committed a crime.
How should he deal with the crime of deceiving the emperor? Does your Majesty really want to kill him?"
Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said: "What the auxiliary machine said makes sense. I still need to rely on Wang in many places. We can't let him be so reckless. Senior officer, go and call Wang here. I'll ask him face to face what he means.
.”
"No." Eunuch Gao accepted the order and left. Changsun Wuji went back to continue reading the memorial. Li Shimin frowned and thought for a while, and suddenly said: "Assistant machine, I suddenly thought of Li Mu."
Changsun Wuji didn't hear clearly, so he stood up and said, "What did your Majesty say?"
"I said, I don't know why, but I suddenly thought of this guy Li Mu." Li Shimin sighed and said, "I feel that the king's memorial is most likely to be related to Li Mu."
Changsun Wuji didn't understand and said: "Your Majesty, this is impossible. The king should not listen to Li Mu on such a big matter."
"I don't think the king knows how to do it...but I still think it has something to do with Li Mu."
The tooth hurt again. Li Shimin was upset and shouted: "Come here, go to Zhuluhou Mansion and call Li Mu over. If he complains of illness, bring him to me!"
There was a promise from outside the hall, and Li Shimin covered his swollen cheeks and sighed: "Assistant machine, this Li Mu, I love and hate him. If I hadn't seen how talented he is, I would have wished..."
Li Shimin gritted his teeth and was finally reluctant to say the word 'kill'. He was furious for a long time and muttered: "I will definitely beat him hard!"
Changsun Wuji had been with Li Shimin for many years, how could he not figure out his thoughts, and said: "Your Majesty, now your Majesty wants to punish Li Mu, I have to speak for him."
"Huh?" Li Shimin frowned and said, "This guy even bribed you?"
Changsun Wuji smiled and said: "Your Majesty, may you have forgotten that just the day before yesterday, my son already worshiped him as his disciple."
"I've had a toothache these past few days, but I forgot about it." Li Shimin also smiled, and suddenly remembered that Li Mu was still a professor at Chongwen Hall, and said bitterly: "If you didn't tell me, I forgot about it. I asked him to take time to come to Chongwen Hall.
I taught Cheng Qian and Qing Que, but he didn’t even teach me for a day. He really turned a deaf ear to my words. No, I can’t let him do this. When he comes later, I will mention this matter.”
Changsun Wuji rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid Li Mu is going to cheat."
"He dares?!"
"Your Majesty has forgotten his three songs "It's Difficult to Travel"?"
"..." Li Shimin was silent. How could he forget that that day, Li Mu drank wine and recited poetry to express his depression. He also said more than three times that he needed to take a break. He called it a 'winter vacation'.
Due to emotions and reasons, Li Mu's request should be met. However, Li Shimin is the emperor. What is the emperor? The emperor means that everything in the world must be in accordance with my wishes. Li Mu, it is true that you have been wronged, and it is true that you are tired.
, when I need you to do something, you still have to do things for me.
It is natural to feel guilty. As an elder. As an emperor, Li Shimin still thinks this is a matter of course.
Li Shimin pondered for a long time and then said: "Li Mu is a sensible boy. He knows what should be done. Let's read the memorial. I'm a little tired. Let's take a nap."
Changsun Wuji saluted, sat down and continued to read the memorial. He said this deliberately, but he was actually risking bad things. He was reminding Li Shimin that Li Mu was not a good minister.
Such a reminder may be of little value. But one day, when Li Shimin starts to have opinions about Li Mu, these few words will be useful.
No matter how solid the trust is, as long as there is the first crack, it will be shattered sooner or later.
…
When the young eunuch came, Li Mu was talking to Li Ying about the carriage shop. Li Mu was studying bearings yesterday afternoon, so he didn't send anyone to find Li Ying. He happened to be free this morning, so he called Li Ying.
After Li Mu took out the "design drawing" of the iron-clad cart and promised its sturdiness, Li Ying readily agreed to all Li Mu's suggestions. The Li family in Zhao County would pay to purchase a new type of iron-clad car from the factory of the Ministry of Industry.
Flatbed trucks are used for transportation between Taiyuan and Xi'an.
When Li Mu was discussing with Li Ying whether they could find a way to get some camels back from the Western Regions, Zhao Youcai came to report. Hearing that he was summoned by the palace, Li Ying was also an eye-catching person, so he hurriedly said goodbye. Before leaving,
, repeatedly said that he would find a way to deal with the camel matter and report it to Li Mu when he had an idea.
Li Mu guessed why he was summoned to the palace. This was what he wanted to do, so he didn't make any fuss. He asked General Heng Ha to prepare a carriage and follow the young eunuch into the palace. Because Li Mu had the imperial city to ride and drive.
privilege, so his carriage did not stop until it reached the palace gate.
Li Mu got off the carriage and planned to walk to the Tai Chi Palace. Unexpectedly, Li Shimin also prepared a walking stick. He was not polite and sat on the walking stick, covering his legs with animal skins, and was carried swayingly.
Arrive at Tai Chi Palace.
When Li Mu came down from the steps, he saw Eunuch Gao waiting at the door. When Eunuch Gao saw Li Mu, he was full of smiles from a distance. It seemed that the favorability brought by the three 'yellow croakers' had not expired yet. Li Mu
With a stooped look and a weak look, he slowly moved to the door, silently chanting "Exchange" in his mind, and exchanged another small "yellow croaker" from the system. He used Eunuch Gao's hand to cover it and stuffed it into his hand.
.
After getting the little 'yellow croaker', the unique touch of gold made Eunuch Gao recognize it immediately. Eunuch Gao smiled even more on his face and said repeatedly: "Master Hou is still so polite."
"Hey, Eunuch Gao, how do you know my troubles? I have no place to spend my money!"
When Eunuch Gao heard this, he almost rolled his eyes out with a roll of his eyes. But there was nothing he could do, because he was really rich. Although it sounded very much like he was showing off, if it was true, he couldn't be said to be showing off.
.
Eunuch Gao smiled apologetically and said, "Whenever the Marquis is in trouble again in the future, our family is willing to share the worries with the Marquis."
"Easy to say." Li Mu responded casually. Eunuch Gao helped him open the door of the palace and went in first, saying: "Your Majesty, Marquis Zhulu has arrived."
"Let him in."
Li Mu ducked into the Tai Chi Hall and saw Wang already there. Seeing Li Mu come in, Wang secretly gave him a wink. Li Mu didn't understand what he meant at all, but he gave him a knowing look in return.
Changsun Wuji saw the two of them flirting with each other, and thought to himself, as expected, His Majesty guessed it right, it was Li Mu who did it! What on earth did he want to do? To deceive the nobles by changing their ways? No, he deceived the nobles.
The noble clan still has traces to follow. Why is the king following him? He is a noble clan. Do you want to poach yourself? Are you crazy?
When Li Shimin saw Li Mu coming, he glanced at him and said to Mr. Gao: "Bring Li Mu a chair. His injury has not healed yet. Let him sit down and answer the questions."
Eunuch Gao responded and went to look for the 'Hu Chair'. There were plenty of Jindun, but Li Shimin asked for the 'Hu Chair', so he couldn't use Jindun. The Hu Chair was wide and had a backrest, making it more comfortable to sit on than the Jindun.
Much more.
Seeing this scene, Changsun Wuji and Wang felt somewhat embarrassed. They had been here for a long time, but they were still standing. Although Changsun Wuji had a seat, it was just a futon, on which he could sit and kneel to read the memorial.
It's not as comfortable as the Hu chair. Li Shimin's treatment of Li Mu now is really extraordinary, even compared to the two third-rank officials.
Li Mu was also good at acting. When he heard what Li Shimin said, he quickly bent down and saluted: "How dare I, your Majesty, accept this from your Majesty..."
"Okay, don't I know what your nature is like? I have a toothache today and am too lazy to talk much. Just sit down if I ask you to."
"Ahem, then... then I will thank Your Majesty."
Eunuch Gao came back at the right time, put down the chair, and Li Mu sat up on it, facing Li Shimin across the table. On his left was Chang Sun Wuji, and on his right was Wang, the two ministers of the Prime Minister and Fu, who seemed to be his deputies.
Li Shimin obviously didn't think so much. He threw the king's memorial to Li Mu for him to read, and said to the king: "My dear, please continue talking."
The king continued: "Your Majesty, what I mean is very clear in the memorial. The reason why I built the road is due to the needs of Datang Mining. The secondary reason is also to facilitate the connection between Taiyuan and Chang'an. Your Majesty,
Today, the country has five capitals, the upper capital is Chang'an, the eastern capital is Luoyang, the western capital is Fengxiang, the southern capital is Shujun, and the northern capital is Taiyuan. The fact that they can be named "capital" shows their importance. But now the road between Taiyuan and Chang'an is rugged and difficult to travel.
, both the people’s livelihood and the military aspect are matters that need to be resolved urgently.”
As he spoke, the king's voice became much louder in vain, and he said generously: "Your Majesty, I know that the Tang Dynasty is in dire straits, and the national treasury is not full. Your Majesty has to spend the internal funds for the sake of the country. As a minister,
Your Majesty's ministers, seeing this scene, really can't sleep peacefully. Therefore, I persuade the elders of the clan that I am willing to use all the remaining food in the Taiyuan Wang clan to build roads. It is also considered that the Taiyuan Wang clan will do all it can for the sake of the court and your Majesty.
I have gained a little bit of strength. I have put a lot of effort into it, and I hope your majesty will grant it!"
Li Shimin glanced at Li Mu, as if asking Li Mu if he had read the memorial. Li Mu put the memorial back on the table and nodded, indicating that he had read it. The content of the memorial was no different from what Wang said. From beginning to end
They all said that the Wang family in Taiyuan was willing to provide food and build roads without paying a penny from the court, and there was no mention of anything in return.
This is very different from what Li Mu and Wang Pu said, but it shows Wang's methods.
He said he didn’t want to repay him, but did he really mean that there would be no repayment?
Won't.
Because Li Shimin couldn't afford such a big favor.
The world's surname is Li, and important matters such as building roads should be done by the imperial court, that is, the Li family. What does it have to do with the Wang family in Taiyuan? Logically speaking, the king is acting as a substitute for his subordinates, but people can clearly understand that this is an act to share the king's worries.
, and it is for the sake of the country. As an emperor, how can you refuse?
If you refuse, you will lose the support of the people. The people will not think about how many things are going on here. They will only think that the court has no money to build roads, and the Wang family in Taiyuan wants to build roads, but the court refuses to give in. The court is really a bastard, and the emperor is a fool!
If you agree, why?
There is no free effort in this world. For the Wang family in Taiyuan who has put in so much effort, there must be a reward, that is, a reward.
Furthermore, other wealthy families, nobles, etc., would not agree.
Just like what Changsun Wuji worried about, once this hole is opened, providing money and effort for the court "free" becomes loyalty. On the contrary, not providing money and effort for the court "free" is disloyal. Who dares to bear this 'crime'
?
But if everyone is "free", why should they? The world's surname is Li, not Changsun, not Lu, not Zheng, why should they pay for your country, Li Tang?
Therefore, there is no need to discuss at all. All the noble families except the Taiyuan Wang family will come up with various reasons to prevent "free". Even if the Taiyuan Wang family does not want anything in return, they have to give it. This is for