Tang Jian answered correctly, and then Eunuch Gao came. Li Shimin was still very efficient in doing things. Yesterday he promised to reward him with a thousand taels of silver for a dowry, which he delivered today. There were also the clothes and imperial edicts of Yipin. Li Mu took Sun to express his gratitude.
After that, naturally another piece of silver was stuffed into Eunuch Gao's sleeve.
Eunuch Gao smiled happily and told Li Mu that the Emperor couldn't wait any longer and asked him to deliver the wine quickly. Li Mu agreed and sent Eunuch Gao to the door before returning to the lobby. In the lobby, Mrs. Sun stretched out her hand to open a small crack in the red silk.
Son, while he was taking a look inside, he saw Li Mu coming back and said, "My son, come and count quickly. Is there a thousand taels here? Don't let that eunuch get greedy. I think he is quite greedy for money."
Li Mu smiled and said: "Mother, this is your Majesty's reward. Who dares to be greedy? My son gave him some money just because he wanted to make a good relationship. After all, he is serving your Majesty. What news will there be in the palace in the future?
We can also know earlier, don’t worry, the money will definitely be right."
As he said that, Li Mu lifted up the red silk and was suddenly a little confused. What he saw on the sandalwood tray were not the silver ingots he had imagined, but all kinds of silver utensils, several of which he
You still recognize them, aren't they the things in Dingxiang City's treasure house? How could Li Shimin take these things out as rewards?
At this time, Li Bi happened to come to Li Mu and solved his doubts. It turned out that this reward was in accordance with the rules, and the reward for the Duke must be gold and silver. But now the treasury is empty, and the emperor's internal funds are not sufficient. This is also thanks to the found
Otherwise, Li Shimin would not be able to reward the thousand taels of silver and should use land instead. Li Mu was worried that these utensils could not be spent as money, but Li Bi said that it was okay, as long as it was silver, it was hard currency in any form.
Many of the utensils are very exquisite and are worth even more when taken to the market.
Li Mu didn't know what dowries were required for marriages in the Tang Dynasty, so he gave all these silver utensils to Li Bi and asked him to buy them for him. Li Bi agreed, told Li Mu about the construction progress of the winery, and left with the things
.
As soon as Li Bi left, Mrs. Sun patted her thigh and said distressedly: "Silly son, I can just deal with the dowry casually. You can exchange these good things for money and keep them for later use. When my mother arrives at Tang Mansion,
You don’t need anything for food and clothing, so why bring so much dowry!”
Li Mu smiled and said: "Mother, this is a reward from Your Majesty. It is specially used for purchasing dowry. How dare you keep it privately?"
"Hiding it secretly, who knows."
Li Mu shook his head and said: "Mother, my son said that I just hope that you can live a comfortable life. My son can earn money, so there is no need for this. On the contrary, when you arrived in the Tang Mansion, although you said you had no worries about food and clothing, you only had servants and maids.
, you have to give some reward, how can you do it if you don’t have money? And the son doesn’t want his mother to marry in a poor way. The dowry is still too small for the son, but now he doesn’t have much money, so he has no choice but to make do with it. This morning, Tang Mansion sent
Come here with the betrothal gift, and later I will ask my second uncle to help exchange it for copper coins, and put it in a box for you to take with you in case of emergency."
"Alas! Mom wanted to use this money to give to you and Qiaoqiao..."
"Mother!" Li Mu took Sun's hand and said, "My son has told me many times that he can make money, so don't worry. Qiaoqiao is not the kind of woman who is greedy for money, so she won't mind this.
"
"You kid, you are just too strong-willed and have a stubborn temper." Mrs. Sun sighed and said, "That's up to you, but I want to buy some jewelry for my daughter-in-law, so you can't stand in the way, right?
"
Li Mu smiled and said: "It's all up to you. It's getting late and my son has to go to the government office to report. You go back to the courtyard to rest. My son will set off soon."
After saying that, Li Mu said goodbye to Sun and rode on the horse prepared by Li Bi, with Wang Hu taking the lead. The two of them went to the official office of the Ministry of Industry together. Li Mu didn't know the road, and Wang Hu waited for Li Mu to finish reporting and wanted to take him with him.
Go and see the mansion given to him by Li Ji.
On the way, after hearing what Wang Hu said, Li Mu realized what Li Ji meant yesterday when he said that the Ministry of Industry was far away. The official offices of these six ministries, except the Ministry of Works, were all in the imperial city. Only the official office of the Ministry of Works was in Chang'an.
In the southwest of the city, next to Yanping Gate, Cao Guogong's residence is on Zhuque Street. It takes an hour to get to the Ministry of Industry's office by horseback. If you walk on two legs, you don't know how long it will take.
The imperial court placed the official offices of the Ministry of Works so far away. In addition to the fact that the Ministry of Works had a lower status than the other five ministries, another important reason was that the Ministry of Works was responsible for various construction projects in Chang'an City, which required a large preparation yard and placement.
Craftsmen came from all over to do corvee work. There was so much land in the city, so there was no such a big place, and the area near Yanpingmen was relatively remote and close to the city gate and the West Market. The place was large and it was convenient to transport materials, so it was natural to choose here.
Along the way from Zhuque Street, the houses became shorter and thinner, and when we arrived near the Ministry of Industry, a large number of shantytowns appeared. Looking at it, it looked like a slum in later generations. Li Mu felt very uncomfortable when he saw it.
All the good houses in Chang'an were built by these craftsmen, but they can only live in such shanties, which is somewhat ironic.
After passing through this group of shanties, I finally saw a few decent houses. Together they were about the size of the warehouse of Cao Guogong's mansion. There was a stable to the west with two sallow-looking horses. Li Mu glanced at Wang Hu next to him and said
: "Don't tell me this is the official office of the Ministry of Industry. I don't believe it."
Wang Hu nodded and said: "This is indeed the official office of the Ministry of Industry. Have you seen the stable? That is the home of Li Daliang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry. When the mansion is repaired, it needs craftsmen. I have been here once. He is the owner of the east wing.
Where we live, the west wing is used for official business."
"Ouch..." Li Mu scratched his head and instantly became pessimistic about his career prospects.
The two dismounted and came to the door to knock on the door. A woman came out from the east wing. Seeing that they were strangers, she asked tentatively: "Who are you looking for?"
Li Mu quickly saluted and said, "Your Excellency, Li Mu, has been appointed as a doctor of the Ministry of Industry by Your Majesty. I am here to report today. I wonder where the Minister is now?"
"Ah, I know about this. He is reviewing official documents in the west wing. I am picking vegetables here. You can just do what you want."
The two of them turned to the west wing and knocked on the door. Someone opened the door. When Li Mu saw this person, he instantly believed what Li Ji said yesterday. The person in front of him really looked like someone from a promotional video. He was the only one who saw him.
He is not wearing official uniform, but looks like an ordinary person. He looks quite clean, but there is still a patch on the hem of his robe. He has an appearance that almost says "I am an honest man" written on his face, and his skin is dark.
, his hands are covered with calluses, and he doesn’t have the bearing of an official, but more like a blacksmith.
"Your Majesty, Li Mu, pays homage to the Vice Minister."
"You are Li Mu!" Li Daliang was very enthusiastic. He opened the door and said, "Come on, come in quickly! Come in and talk!"