Zichen Hall is located next to Hanyuan Palace, which is the place where many bigwigs such as Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province work after going down to the court.

Today, there was nothing too special to discuss at the meeting, so it ended a little earlier than usual.

Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng and others, after going down to the court, went to the Zichen Hall next to them to deal with political affairs.

And Li Shimin quickly changed his clothes, took Li Zhong and Li Junxian, and a few skilled guards secretly out of Daming Palace.

Of course, there will definitely be people from the Hundred Cavalry Division secretly following behind him.

"The changes in Chang'an City are really big, this Guiyi Fang I have also been here before, but I didn't expect that there are no traces of the original anymore."

The first stop Li Shimin went to was Guiyifang.

During this time, Guiyifang can be said to have frequently occupied the headlines of the people of Chang'an City after tea and dinner.

Especially in the past few days, the new phase of the house in Guiyifang is selling well, and there is a check-out storm in the workshop city.

Although Yang Benman's lore tricks were used to settle this matter later, it can really be regarded as making the workshop city and Guiyi Fang completely enter the field of vision of the people of Chang'an City.

"Yes, that is, the Wei family and the Du family joined forces to complete the acquisition of the original land and houses in Guiyifang so quickly, and then completed the demolition and renovation of some houses in just a few months, so that His Majesty has the scene in front of him."

Although Li Zhong's relationship with the Chu Wangfu is a little special, it does not mean that he is hostile to the Wei family and the Du family because of this.

A bowl of water is level, this is basically a necessary quality for the intelligence leaders around the emperor, otherwise it will definitely not last long.

After all, once the emperor thinks you are selfish, his sense of trust in you is gone.

And this kind of position, if you don't get the trust of the emperor, it is impossible to sit down.

"After Keming's death, Du Gou and Du He really couldn't talk about how competitive they were, but I didn't expect that this time they actually did something that benefited the country, the people and the family, which can be described as killing three birds with one stone."

Li Shimin still has a lot of feelings for Du Ruhui.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui can be said to be Li Shimin's left arm and right arm.

Even he cared a little more about Du Wei and Du He.

"That's true, I heard that the idea of developing Guiyi Fang was first proposed by Du He, and then I found the Wei family to cooperate. The cooperation between the two Weidu families is really not much that cannot be done in Chang'an City. ”

"Who is the Wei family responsible for the construction of Guiyi Fang?"

Jing Zhaowei's family, that is a well-known wealthy family.

When Li Shimin married Wei Guifei, he had the intention of wooing the Wei family.

"It's Wei Siren, Wei Guifei's nephew. The Wei family's business affairs are mainly in charge of Wei Siren, and he can be regarded as a leader among the younger generation. ”

The Tang Dynasty was not like the Ming and Qing dynasties, where the status of merchants was so low.

A noble son like Wei Siren, although business is not the best choice, if he does well, his voice in the family will not be low.

After all, no matter how noble and wealthy you are, you still have to eat.

"The momentum of the Wei family has been much stronger than that of the Du family in recent years, and it is no wonder that Du He will cooperate with them. However, this kind of thing is still good for everyone to do it together, if you fight alone, the difficulty will increase, not to mention, everyone will inevitably have to compete on the same stage at that time. ”

Li Shimin still supports this kind of action to improve the living conditions in Chang'an City.

Even the cooperation between the Wei Du family has had an impact on Li Kuan.

"Yes, Zhao Guogong's mansion is now also cooperating with the Wei family and the Du family, preparing to develop some land next to Guiyifang, and now it is already acquiring the houses of the people. During this time, other nobles in Chang'an City also made frequent moves, either arranging people to Liaodong, or preparing to show their skills in Chang'an City. I heard that in the Datang Trading Center, the price of cement has risen by 20% compared with the beginning of the year, while the steel bar has risen by 30%. ”

However, the Hundred Horsemen have placed spies in the homes of various nobles, which is basically a secret that is not a secret.

Therefore, Li Zhong still has a good understanding of the movements of each family.

Of course, this is not to say that the secrecy of the various nobles' families is so bad, but that these news, people did not think to hide it from the Baiqi Division.

If it really involves something related to the survival of the family, even if the number of spies in the Baiqi Division is doubled, it may not be able to get accurate information.

"When the price of commodities rises, the willingness of the workshops to produce these commodities increases, and the merchants expand the production capacity of these commodities, and eventually the price of commodities will fall back to a reasonable level. Nowadays, cement and steel bars are no longer rare items in Datang, and I estimate that after this period of relief, the price will drop to a reasonable level. ”

Li Shimin directly applies what he learned from the Business School of Guanshishan Academy to his daily life.

Ordinary people are reluctant to study business, but Guanshishan Academy is different.

Taking the opportunity of developing the workshop city, the business school of Guanshishan Academy was specially set up in the workshop city, so that the treasurers of each of its workshops could also serve as teachers.

Therefore, although the business school has only been established for less than a year, it has already launched some theories one after another, and even set up a special "Fortune Weekly" to publish various economic theories and news.

"Your Majesty, during this time, the cement workshops everywhere are indeed starting rapidly, and it is estimated that by the end of next year, Datang's cement output will be doubled; And those steel-making workshops are also constantly expanding production, and even because of the hot sales of steel, some iron-making workshops that were originally under the pressure of the iron-making workshop of the Chu Wangfu and the iron-making workshop of the eldest grandson's family have also ushered in vitality. It is said that the commercial tax of the household department is comparable to the commercial tax of the whole year a few years ago. ”

The commercial tax was developed under the impetus of Li Kuan.

From the initial municipal tax, it has gradually expanded to other types of taxes.

The implementation of the place also began to expand from Dengzhou and Liangzhou to the whole territory of Datang.

Today, the Ministry of Household Affairs has fully tried the benefits of commercial taxation and has begun to fully support the development of business.

"In this way, this year's tax revenue can continue to maintain the rapid growth of previous years?"

Although Tang Jian, the head of the household, did not follow him, Li Shimin felt that it was similar to asking Li Zhong.

As the money bag of the imperial court, every move of the household department is definitely the focus of the Hundred Cavalry Division.

"Judging from the preliminary situation so far, the tax revenue in the first nine months of this year is about to catch up with the whole of last year. Therefore, it is almost inevitable that this year's tax revenue will continue to grow rapidly. ”

"So much this year?"

According to Li Zhong, Li Shimin felt that it was possible to increase tax revenue by 30% this year, which was an unprecedented proportion, which made him feel a little unreal.

"Yes! Because starting from this year, His Royal Highness the King of Chu has handed over all the city taxes collected by the Governor's Mansion to the Ministry of Households, and the impact of this piece alone will be at least two or three million. Therefore, this year's tax revenue will be significantly higher than in previous years. ”

The importance of money can only be felt most truly by those who have experienced social beatings.

For example, the Baiqi Division managed by Li Zhong is actually a big spender.

Therefore, he understands the importance of money more deeply than ordinary people and attaches more importance to it.

"At the beginning, I promised Kuan'er that the ten years of the city ship governor's mansion will be returned to the Chu Prince's Mansion, and now it has not been ten years, right?"

"It's true that it's not ten years yet, but the amount of the municipal tax is increasing year by year, and the rate of growth is very fast; Although some of it was spent on the city's sailors, the amount of money left over each year was also very large. Therefore, after His Royal Highness the King of Chu came back from Goguryeo this time, he handed over this year's city tax to the household department, and it is estimated that Tang Shangshu is ready to give His Majesty a surprise, so he has not reported to you yet. ”

When he said this, Li Zhong suddenly realized that he seemed to be talking too much.

Originally, Li Kuan and Tang Jian wanted to report this matter to Li Shimin when the imperial court formulated next year's financial budget, because Li Kuan wanted the household department to focus on supporting the construction of Liaodong, which would inevitably require huge funds.

It just so happens that the municipal tax can fill this gap, so as not to affect the construction of other state capitals in Datang.

However, now that Li Zhong said that he had leaked his mouth, Li Shimin naturally knew it immediately.

Fortunately, he did not feel that he had been deceived, but was moved by Li Kuan who gave up such a large amount of market tax revenue.

"Let's go! Let's take a look at the Workshop City! ”

……

In the past few days, Li Kuan has been busy going to various research institutes of Guanshishan Academy every morning to confirm the progress of various researches, and then taking a nap in the afternoon, and then playing with small corn and small potatoes.

Today is no exception.

"Boom!"

Just as Li Kuan had just returned to the house, a muffled thunder sounded in the sky.

It is still very rare to see thunder in late autumn.

Li Kuan looked up at the sky and found that he didn't know when the clouds had gathered, and he couldn't help frowning secretly.

"Lord Wang, it hasn't rained heavily in Chang'an City for a while, and looking at this, it seems that it is going to rain back all the heavy rain that hasn't rained in the past few months."

Qing'er followed Li Kuan's side, looked up at the cloudy sky, and couldn't help but make a joke.

Qing'er, who is in her twenties, is completely open.

If she wasn't Li Kuan's personal maidservant, it is estimated that there would already be countless stewards in the Chu Palace's mansion who wanted to marry her home.

Now, no one dares to look at her more.

Don't look at Qing'er as just a maid, but in the Chu Palace, her status is very high.

That is, Cheng Jingwen, Wu Meiniang, Xiao Ma and Xiao Tudou, as well as a few people such as Laifu and Wang Xuance, have a higher status than her.

Moreover, because she can speak in front of Li Kuan, even Cheng Jingwen and Wu Meiniang are quite polite to Qing'er.

Sometimes, Cheng Jingwen thinks that Li Kuan might as well take Qing'er into the house.

At that time, there was just a concubine on the left and right, and she, the princess, could completely suppress her to death.

It looks like now.

"Hasn't it rained much this fall? No, it is said that the autumn rain is continuous, and in the autumn of previous years, Chang'an City will continue to rain for a period of time. ”

For an agrarian society, the importance of good weather cannot be overemphasized.

Li Kuan hadn't paid attention to the weather changes in Chang'an City before, but now when he heard Qing'er say this, he felt that something was abnormal.

"yes, I wonder why there is so little rain this fall. In fact, not only this fall, but also this summer, there was no heavy rain. Fortunately, the water conservancy facilities in Guanzhong have been built very well in recent years, but they have not had much impact on the growth of crops. However, in our tea garden, the output of autumn tea is significantly less than in previous years. ”

Seeing that Li Kuan was interested in this topic, Qing'er naturally said a few more words.

"Looking at it like this, it seems that the rain won't be light today, so don't make any moths out."

In the years that Li Kuan has been in Datang, it has basically been smooth.

Even if there is an occasional cold or drought, the overall impact is manageable.

However, God is not so easy to talk to.

Under normal circumstances, it would be normal to give you some floods, droughts, or something.

Now is the critical moment for the development of Liaodong, and Li Kuan naturally does not want Datang to encounter any natural disasters.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Barra!"

As soon as Li Kuan's words were finished, raindrops several miles the size of beans fell on his face.

One drop, two drops......

Soon, the downpour enveloped the entire Chang'an City.

"Lord Wang, wipe your face!"

In the lobby of the annex of the Chu Palace, Li Kuan had just changed out of his coat that had been dripping with a little raindrops, and stood in front of the window with a cup of black tea, looking at the scene outside.

It's also funny, as the largest producer of green tea in Datang, Li Kuan's favorite drink is black tea.

The Lin family black tea even regarded this rumor as a promotional selling point of black tea.

"It's okay! Just a few drops of rain! ”

Li Kuan looked at the heavy rain that had been falling outside for a quarter of an hour, but there was no sign of stopping at all, and his face showed a deep sense of worry.

What I was worried about just now can't really happen, right?

At the current level of precipitation, a quarter of an hour of precipitation is estimated to have exceeded the precipitation of the past month.

If we continue like this, there will definitely be chaos.

"Lord Wang, this year's autumn harvest has ended, and even if it rains heavily, the impact on crops is very limited. This autumn has seen relatively little rain, and this heavy rain is just a good time to alleviate the drought situation on the ground. ”

Wu Meiniang was sensitive, so she naturally knew what Li Kuan was worried about, so she whispered on the side.

"Right now, it's actually the most suitable climate for building roads. After the busy farming time, the people also have time to go out to various construction sites to do some small work, and the shortage of manpower in various parts of Guanzhong should be greatly alleviated. But now that such a heavy rain is falling, the situation may be completely different. ”

Although Chang'an City repaired the cement road to Liangzhou many years ago, it does not mean that there is no longer a need to build the road.

On the contrary, because everyone feels the benefits of cement roads, the Guanzhong area, wherever there are conditions, are desperately building cement roads.

For example, the major state capitals under Guanzhong Road have already had cement roads between half of them.

Of course, with Datang's current strength, it can only support the construction of cement roads between states, and there is nothing that can be done about county-level cement roads that are one layer deeper.

After all, building roads is too expensive.

Even if everyone knows the benefits of building roads, they have to do what they can.

As the capital, Chang'an City only began to build cement roads to the surrounding counties in the past two years.

"This is true, and according to this approach, it is likely to lead to local flooding. However, fortunately, the imperial court has built a lot of granaries everywhere over the years, and even if there is really any disaster, the impact is very limited. Today's Datang is no longer the Datang of more than 20 years ago. ”

Wu Meiniang's point of view should still represent the views of many people.

After all, in recent years, due to the promotion of waterwheels and quyuan ploughs, as well as the promotion of Nanyang rice, Datang's grain output has hit new highs one after another.

Now the imperial court no longer has any restrictions on winemaking, which is entirely because there is enough grain in the granary, and everyone is not worried about the reason why the people have no food to eat.

"Hope everything is okay!"

At this time, Li Kuan couldn't say anything more, he could only hope that everything was fine.

……

Outside the Xuanzheng Palace, Lan He stopped Fang Xuanling and the others with a nervous expression.

"A few ministers, Your Majesty is now reviewing the recital, and there is no way to summon you! Why don't you come back later? ”

If it's about the same, Lan He has already said it several times.

At the beginning, Fang Xuanling and they worked in the Zichen Palace, and they only sent someone over to ask Lan and Li Shimin if they were free, and then they would come over if they were free.

But there were no time several times in a row, and the rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and Fang Xuanling couldn't sit still.

This situation seems a little wrong.

This strange heavy rain has been falling for half an hour, and even the Daming Palace, which has a very developed drainage system, can see a little water in some low-lying places, let alone outside.

At this time, Li Shimin is still in the mood to review the folds?

It's unreasonable!

"Lan He, tell the old man the truth, is His Majesty in the Xuanzheng Palace, in the Daming Palace?"

Fang Xuanling, as Shangshu's left servant, naturally wanted to rush ahead at the critical moment.

Judging from the current situation, this heavy rain will definitely have some impact on Chang'an City, and there will even be floods in the surrounding states and counties, and it is necessary for the imperial court to start thinking about disaster relief.

Li Shimin won't not understand this!

But why have I come here twice in person, but I still haven't seen Li Shimin?

"This ...... Fang Xiang, what do you say...... How can I answer that? ”

Although the weather was not hot anymore, and even a little chilly, Lan He's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat.

On the one hand, he felt the pressure of Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Changsun Wuji, Cen Wenwen and other bigwigs, and on the other hand, he was a little worried about Li Shimin's situation.

Others don't know that Li Shimin is out of the palace, can he still not know?

But now it's raining so hard outside, Your Majesty ...... He's supposed to be fine, right?

"Tell the truth!"

Although Wei Zheng is not young, his voice is very loud.

With his impatience, where can he stand Lan He's squeaking here?

"That's right, Lan He, you are also an old man next to Your Majesty, in this kind of weather, if something happens, can you afford it?"

Cen Wenwen also helped on the side.

To be honest, he's worried right now.

On the one hand, he is worried about what impact this heavy rain will have on Datang that he does not know when it will stop, and on the other hand, he is worried about Li Shimin's safety.

With his understanding of Li Shimin, there is a chance that His Majesty will go out of the palace for a private visit again.

If it was usual, there would be nothing, after all, Baiqisi and Qianniuwei are not dry food.

But in the face of natural disasters, no hundred horsemen or thousands of cows are useless.

"Lan He, the queen mother is sick in bed now, why don't you ask the old man to go to Penglai Hall and ask her to come out and ask you, are you willing to say?"

The words of the eldest grandson Wuji became the last straw that crushed Lan He.

"Everyone, it's not that I don't want to say it, but Your Majesty has orders, and I'm just doing things according to Your Majesty's orders."

Lan He cried with a sad face, and the whole person was also extremely panicked.

"Forgive you for not having the audacity to assert yourself! We naturally know that you are doing things according to His Majesty's orders, but the current situation is special, if you don't explain the situation clearly, if there is any accident at that time, you have small shoulders and small arms, can you bear it? Hurry up, where did Your Majesty go? ”

The eldest grandson Wuji stared at Lan He with an unkind face.

The eunuchs in the early Tang Dynasty had far less power than those of other dynasties.

Not to mention the eldest grandson Wuji, he is an ordinary Beijing official, and he is not very afraid of eunuchs.

That is, Lan He is the old man next to Li Shimin, and he is very trusted by Li Shimin, so everyone will be polite to him.

But that doesn't mean I'm afraid of him.

"Out of the palace! After the next dynasty, His Majesty took Commander Li and General Li out of the palace! ”

At this time, Lan He naturally didn't dare to hide it anymore.

"Out of the palace? Where did it go? ”

The eldest grandson Wuji was slightly relieved when he heard that Li Shimin took Li Zhong and Li Junxian out of the palace.

However, when I saw the pouring rain outside, I couldn't suppress the worry in my heart.

"Zhao Guogong, I really don't know this very well. However, a few days ago, Commander Li reported to His Majesty about the Guiyi Workshop and the Workshop City, and His Majesty expressed his intention to take a look. Come to think of it, today I either went to Guiyifang, or went to Workshop City, or both. ”

Lan He, as Li Shimin's side, still knows Li Shimin very well.

Although Li Shimin didn't tell Lan He where he was going when he left the palace, Lan He's guess was not far from ten.

"Guiyifang? Workshop City? Now that noon has passed, Your Majesty has been out of the palace for so long, and nine times out of ten he has gone to Workshop City! ”

Fang Xuanling put forward his judgment on the side.

"With such a heavy rain, it is estimated that there is serious water accumulation in many places outside the city, and there is construction everywhere in the workshop city, which must be even worse. What a good thing that is! ”

Although Wei Zheng usually impeaches this and that every once in a while, he often clashes with Li Shimin.

However, this does not mean that he does not care about Li Shimin's safety.

"No, you can't wait like this, you have to let the people of Qianniuwei move, and hurry out of the palace to find Your Majesty. With such heavy rain, I don't know where His Majesty is trapped. ”

Fang Xuanling took a deep breath and felt that he couldn't wait.

"What Fang Xiang said is reasonable, I'm younger, so I'll personally lead the team to greet Your Majesty."

Cen Wenwen is not yet 50 years old this year, which is the youngest among the ministers.

"First find the people of the Hundred Cavalry Division and ask to see where His Majesty has gone, so as not to blindly search and cause everyone's panic!"

Wei Zheng's proposal was recognized by everyone.

Don't have anything to do with Li Shimin at that time, but because of their search, everyone thought that something had happened to Li Shimin.

When the time comes, something will really happen!