Having said all this, Chen Zhengtai had no choice but to agree with Li Yuan that if there were any potential new stocks, he should inform him in advance.

Li Yuan seemed to be very satisfied, and let Chen Zhengtai help him back to the hall.

After eating wine that day, Chen Zhengtai was already a little drowsy, and he didn't know how he was sent out of the palace.

It was just in a drowsiness, but he suddenly felt that he thought he was standing on the first floor and Li Yuan was standing on the second floor at first.

Later, I felt that something was wrong, I should stand on the third floor, after all, I saw through Li Yuan's greed for money at a glance.

Thinking about it again, it's not right, this emperor doesn't know that he is Li Shimin's confidant.

Although on the surface, Li Yuan repeatedly said that Chen was loyal and righteous, he would definitely show these things to His Majesty.

So what will Your Majesty think when he learns that the Emperor wants to make money?

will definitely be very relieved, because Li Shimin is not afraid that others love money, especially his father.

This is too much money earned by the emperor, and his backhand also reassures his son about himself.

Kill two birds with one stone.

It's just that I'm thinking in a daze, and I'm unconscious again.

When I got up, I suddenly didn't think much about it, the two people in the palace are the human spirits of the human spirits, and they are also a father and son, and the relationship between the two can be described as love and hate, okay, just ignore it.

Today, it is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and it is inevitable to gather the people of the Chen clan together and set up a banquet, which is lively!

The third uncle and several elders of the clan took the seat, Chen Zhengtai and his son accompanied the last seat, and everyone happily ate some wine.

The third uncle looked very happy, but when he was slightly drunk, he seemed to show some regret: "If Zhengde is also here, how good it would be." ”

As he spoke, his eyes were slightly red.

Chen Zhengde is not here, he went to Shuofang, Shuofang is a desert, thousands of miles away from here, it can be said that the sky is on different sides.

And the only reason for Chen Zhengde to go to Shuofang is...... He's going to grow food in the desert.

Food is the foundation of everything.

If Shuofang can't grow food, then all the actions of the Chen clan in Shuofang will become meaningless.

The Han Dynasty built Shuofang City in the desert, but in the end, once the powerful Han Dynasty was full of civil strife, Shuofang was quickly abandoned, and the fundamental reason was that there was no way for a military fortress like Shuofang to be self-sufficient in the desert.

The food needed there required the imperial court to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to supply it continuously. And once the supply is interrupted, then Shuofang will no longer exist.

Therefore, Chen Zhengde took a group of people to Shuofang and tried to transplant potato crops to Shuofang.

Once Shuofang is self-sufficient in food, then the entire grassland can become both a large pasture and a large farm.

Seeing that the third uncle had this emotion, Chen Zhengtai smiled and said: "A few days ago, I repaired the book and asked my cousin Zhengde to come back for the New Year. ”

The third uncle shook his head and sighed: "He is a person who does great things, growing grain in this grassland is an unprecedented thing, he is the first one, if he can really do things, for the country, it is a merit." For our Chen family, it is also a great joy, such an important matter, Zhengtai is willing to hand over this kid to him to do, where can he be lazy? Ignore him, let's drink. ”

Although he said this, the third uncle's heart was still a little uncomfortable, and he barely smiled, and sighed: "The rise and fall of the Chen family are all in your generation." ”

…………

Shuo Fang.

In the past, the ancient city of Shuofang, only the weathered rammed earth city wall remained, and during the Han Dynasty, the site of Shuofang City was still very good, the minerals here are particularly rich, and there is a big river flowing through here, and the nearby land is more fertile than other grasslands.

Although they went deep into the grassland, at this time, countless chariots, horses and tents were endless.

Countless laborers, as well as guards, and some Turkic men stationed in the distance, numbered tens of thousands.

Every day, there is an endless stream of carts, transporting countless materials from Guanzhong, and the merchants who come with it, like vultures, flock to it.

As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the Han army dug a large number of canals here in order to garrison here, which made the descendants of hundreds of years later, in addition to starting to build a large number of buildings, but also convenient transportation.

In the distance, a group of Chen clansmen were already looking for minerals nearby, and the news was good, and a large amount of coal was discovered, as well as brass and iron ore, as for the scale, they are still being explored.

However, the minerals that have been discovered so far are sufficient.

A group of people began to re-widen the waterways.

The flow of the large river through the area is so impressive that it is possible to dig new canals, both for short-distance transport and for irrigation along the banks.

A group of craftsmen who have been cultivated in Erpigou have now revised the construction plan several times in a row, mining nearby rocks to build a fortified city.

This fortified city is no longer made of rammed earth, but made of rock, and there are a large number of stone quarries nearby, which are enough for the construction of the city.

Of course, in an inconspicuous place, there is a strange group of people.

They have carved out hundreds of acres of land where different crops are grown.

Of course, the vast majority of crops fail.

Whether it's wheat or rice...... Even if you think that there is a river passing through here, the land is still fertile, but after all, the temperature difference between day and night here is too great for wheat and rice to resist such a climate, and not only that, because this is an endless pasture, and once there is a strong wind, the rice and wheat that have been barely planted will soon be blown down by the wind, and before they are ripe, they have been damaged by seven or eight times.

In such a place, it is impossible to grow food at all.

Whether it is the Hu people or the Han people, they probably think so.

Therefore, when some people saw the land being reclaimed, they thought it was interesting at first, but soon, they scoffed.

Isn't this full and holding on? Knowing that they can't grow something, but they still want to plant, this Chen family is full of food and support.

Chen Zhengde is obviously reluctant to deal with people.

He silently led a dozen people, still taking care of the crops here every day.

Although the vast majority of them ended in failure.

But he was calm, after all...... Failure is, in a way, an experience.

If you don't grow one yourself and come to this conclusion, how do you know it won't work, and how do you know why it won't work?

Of course, now it seems that there are only potatoes...... Everything seems to be working fine.

Therefore, Chen Zhengde put all his hopes on this potato, he recorded data every day, observed the growth, and observed the possible insect infestation.

The reclaimed land is a very quiet place, and no one will come on weekdays, only dozens of tents, and some people will deliver supplies on time.

This place is extremely vast, as far as the eye can see, the sky seems to be connected with the grassland, the grassland in winter, as soon as it is at night, it is cold and shivering, and the ability of the tent to shelter from the wind and rain is not good, and there is no condition to build a stone house for the time being, so every time I get up, although I am covered with a heavy woolen mattress and a stove is lit in the tent to keep warm, I still feel a little pain all over my body.

Some older people can't stand it anymore.

is also thanks to Chen Zhengde's youth, so most of the people around him are young men like him.

Day after day, they opened their eyes every day, walked out of the tent, and faced the north wind, their eyes could hardly be opened, only feeling that between heaven and earth, there was only one person left, and the grass clippings blown up by the wind in the sky were like snow.

In fact, there are already many people in the team who have retreated, and here...... Can you really grow food?

Even if the growth of potatoes seems to be acceptable, but there are not many people who have confidence, after all, they have experienced too many failures before, and in such an environment, it is natural for people to lose confidence.

Every once in a while, someone comes to quit.

Chen Zhengde is not good at words, looking at the partner who resigned, everyone went out together and took care of the cultivated land together, but now the other party is riding a horse, carrying a bag, and parting ways with each other, I can't help but have an indescribable sadness in my heart.

But all the people brought here can go, they are not in the desert, they can go back to Chang'an, even if the Chen family makes them unable to gain a foothold in Chang'an, they can still go to Kanto, they can enter Shu, anyway, as long as it is not this desert, they can go anywhere.

But Chen Zhengde has no way out, his grandfather has already explained when he is leaving, the head of the family Chen Zhengtai said, the Chen family has to take root in the desert, where others dare not go, the Chen family has to go, and where others can't get down, the Chen family has to take root.

The new city built a few miles away is just the branches and leaves of the giant trees, no matter how lush the branches and leaves are, but if there are no roots, when the north wind blows on the grassland, there will be nothing left, and in the end, it will be just a pile of loess.

What Chen Zhengde has to do is to take root, and only by taking root and deepening the roots, the branches and leaves can flourish.

There was no escape for him.

Therefore, in addition to taking care of the crops every day, Chen Zhengde does the most is to sit on the ridge of the field, and at night, he likes to light a bonfire, just sit like this, and observe the stars in the sky.

This is true on Chinese New Year's Eve, and the same is true for New Year's Day.

After taking a sip of water and wine, his body would not be cold, and the cowhide coat and wool blanket on his body were wrapped tightly, and the starlight was reflected on his pupils, which were speckled and shining like the night sky.

Looking up at the stars in the sky at this time, Chen Zhengde seemed to know that maybe at the same moment, there would be someone who raised his head at the same time, looked at the same stars, and missed the same thing.

Only at this time, in the eyes that were as clear as the night sky, the reflected starlight was covered with a layer of mist.

Chen Zhengde felt that his nose was sour, and he couldn't help choking: "Ah Weng......"

…………

On the ninth day of the first month.

Li Shimin began to meet with officials from other courts.

The plan of the year lies in the spring, and after the new year, it is considered the beginning of spring.

As soon as this spring opened, the entire Tang Dynasty began to rejuvenate itself after the hibernation of winter.

The annual amount of money and food was calculated, and Dai Guan, the secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, found a terrible expense, so he hurriedly played!

Soon, there was an uproar in the DPRK and China.

It's too expensive.

The Chen clan built a city in Shuofang, which is nothing.

But it's too big.

Li Shimin may have promised to take out a large sum of money and grain.

Originally, in the eyes of the ministers, Shuofang built a city that should be done, and military fortresses were built there in the heyday of the Qin and Han dynasties.

But what they never imagined was that Chen's plan was too big, where was this to build a military fortress, which was clearly rushing to build a state city.

But the problem is that in other places, a state city not only does not need money and food from the imperial court, but also provides taxes.

But in the middle of the desert, a city of this size is almost equivalent to continuous bloodshed.

How to maintain such a giant city is a difficult matter.

Even if the Chen family wants to migrate there in the future, even if Chen Zhengtai verbally promises that in the future they can be self-sufficient and support themselves.

But you can't believe that.

The words are good, when the time comes, the population will really migrate, what should you Chen do with your hands, will the imperial court move people back?

With so many mouths, almost all the materials need to rely on Guanzhong for allocation!

This is equivalent to the fact that in the future, the imperial court will need to feed countless people who are not engaged in farming, which is a bottomless pit.

What's more, there is also the construction of the princess's mansion...... The cost is also staggering, and after Dai Xuan went to the book, it caused an uproar.

Because when he was last year, although the Chen family spent most of the expenses, the money and food used by the imperial court were also amazing.

And that's just the beginning.

After several performances, Li Shimin found Chen Zhengtai.

As soon as Chen Zhengtai arrived, he found that the ministers of the three provinces and various ministries were there.

So he saluted calmly, while Li Shimin looked at Chen Zhengtai and said, "How is Shuofang building?" ”

"Teacher, the general building has been completed for two or three years."

Rough architectural ...... Two or three into ......

In other words, this general building cannot be completed in two or three years, so is it not a general building?

Dai Xuan smiled wryly on the side.

Li Shimin bowed: "Dai Qing's family and Zhuqing both said that the scale of Shuofang is huge, but I am afraid that the imperial court will not be able to supply it in the future, so it is to ask for a performance and reduce the scale, such as the scale of Shuofang City in the Han Dynasty, what does Zhengtai think." ”

Chen Zhengtai obviously thought that one day, he didn't panic at all, and said: "Dare to ask where Shuofang City, which was built in the Qin and Han dynasties, has gone now?" ”

This question made the temple silent.

Chen Zhengtai immediately said loudly: "Therefore, a simple military city cannot be isolated in the desert. A military city is built today, but what about a hundred years from now? Therefore, the students think that the purpose of the imperial court is not to show soldiers in the desert and ensure that the desert can be restrained, but to really take root in the desert, otherwise, the city built today will be lost tomorrow, and the tribes that are dependent today will rebel tomorrow, and what the court does is in vain. ”

Li Shimin nodded, he admired Chen Zhengtai for such ambition

At this point, he and Chen Zhengtai's thoughts are the same.

So Li Shimin looked at Dai Zhou and said, "Dai Qing's family, you see, what Chen Zhengtai said is also very reasonable." ”

Dai Xuan couldn't help but complain in his heart, Your Majesty, which side are you helping, just now you also said that what the minister said makes sense.

………………

Now people are in the countryside, and since the outbreak of the epidemic this year, I haven't returned to my hometown for more than ten months, so the recent updates are a little less, and the tiger tries his best to pull out all the fragmentary time code words, begging not to scold.