Li Chengqian and the crown princess were dressed in neat and simple robes, with a warm smile on their faces, and slowly walked towards the people.

Behind them were the magnificent guard of honor and a group of majestic military officials.

The people kneeling on the ground saw Li Chengqian getting closer and closer to them, and they didn't know where to put their bodies.

Several fort owners were still frightened just now, thinking that Li Chengqian should deal with them after dealing with Chen Datong, but at this time, looking at Li Chengqian's warm smile, he thought that he was blind.

"The grass people meet His Royal Highness the Prince!"

"The grass people meet His Royal Highness the Prince!"

"The grass people deserve death for their crimes!"

This time, there was no need for Liu Kui to remind them, and several fort owners hurriedly lay on the ground when they saw Li Chengqian approaching, and kept kowtowing.

When they came here, they knew that the people who let him dig the canal were just treating them as pawns to death, testing the crown prince, and seeing Li Chengqian's elite soldiers, not to mention killing them was to destroy their entire fort, it was also easy.

Seeing that Li Chengqian was severely punished as soon as he got off the boat, Chen Datong was so frightened that his heart and gall were broken, how could he dare not bow his head?

Seeing this, Liu Hao was also stunned.

It turned out that Liu Hao thought that Li Chengqian had dismissed Chen Datong and would order him to organize the repair of the canal. Now it seems that Li Chengqian may directly consult with these forts, and there is no need to think that as long as Li Chengqian speaks, the owners of these forts will inevitably bring people back to repair the canal immediately.

Could it be that the bureau he bothered to arrange was cracked so easily by Li Chengqian?

Liu Hao was unwilling, but what could he do?

I can only watch.

Li Chengqian walked five steps away in front of Chen Tiankui, and when he saw that these people were going crazy and kowtowing to him to ask for guilt, he said with a smile: "Don't kowtow anymore, don't kowtow anymore." ”

These people were very nervous at this time, and none of them could hear what Li Chengqian was saying.

Li Chengqian had no choice but to turn around and order Liu Kui to pass on the decree.

Liu Kui smiled on his face, pulled his throat and said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a decree, the fathers and elders of Beizhou are exempt, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has something to say to you." ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a will, Beizhou ......"

……

……

Liu Kui shouted three times in a row, and a small chamberlain stepped forward to support a few castle masters, and explained to them in a low voice, before everyone stopped kowtowing and looked at Li Chengqian cautiously.

Li Chengqian saw that everyone finally stopped kowtowing, so he helped the princess to sit down with a smile.

Liu Kui was so frightened that he cried and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can't help it!" As he spoke, he took off his clothes and wanted to lay Li Chengqian on the ground.

Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hand: "It's not in the way, there is some soil on this ground, which is clean." ”

As he spoke, he sat directly on the ground, and the crown princess helped Li Chengqian to sit down, and she also sat next to her.

Chen Tiankui and the others couldn't believe their eyes when they saw Li Chengqian sitting on the ground.

"Which county are you all from?"

"The grass people are from Wucheng County."

"The grass people are from the city and county."

"The grass people are from Linqing County."

……

……

Li Chengqian nodded and asked with a smile, "You dug the canal?"

Chen Tiankui's face froze, and he didn't know how to answer?

"What did you dig the canal to irrigate?" Li Chengqian continued to ask.

Li Chengqian walked all the way along the canal, and the south had not yet started farming, but the north first started digging the canal for irrigation, which Li Chengqian could not have imagined.

Chen Tiankui saw that Li Chengqian had no intention of blaming, so he said carefully: "The grass people and others are irrigating mulberry fields. ”

Kuwata?

Li Chengqian immediately thought of the documents he had read before, and now many places in Hebei Province were paying tribute to the imperial court for silk fabrics, and Beizhou was considered to be a relatively northerly place, so only silk and felt were paid to the imperial court.

Chen Tiankui saw that Li Chengqian didn't understand, so he slowly explained to him: "When Emperor Yang of Sui repaired the canal, all willow trees were planted along the river. However, since the Wude period, there has been less rain and drought in Beizhou, and the mulberry fields have germinated later and later, and the mulberry leaves produced have become less and less.

The people of Beizhou uprooted the willow trees along the canal, planted mulberry stakes instead, and grafted mulberry buds on mulberry stakes every year. With the help of the water vapor of the canal, we can harvest mulberry leaves, raise silkworms, reel silk, and weave fine silk to pay tribute to the imperial court. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Tiankui said with tears in his eyes: "But since last winter, there has not been a single rain in Beizhou and Youzhou in the north, and the mulberry fields along the canal have not yet shown signs of germination."

The grass people waited for all kinds of helplessness to dig the canal at the risk of death. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to punish the crime, so he will kill all the grass people, and it is the sin of the grass people. ”

Chen Tiankui fell to the ground again as he spoke, and began to cry, and as soon as Chen Tiankui cried, several other castle owners also cried. Half of these people are acting, and the other half are self-inflicted injuries and are used as outcasts.

Li Chengqian was like a mirror in his heart, although what Chen Tiankui said was true, but if no one instructed them behind their backs and gave them bear heart and leopard gall, they would not dare to lead their clansmen to dig the canal.

Li Chengqian looked at them and said with a smile: "The canal is connected to the Yellow River, and the drought of Hebei Province should divert water from the canal for irrigation......

Although Chen Tiankui and the other fort owners were crying, they had been paying attention to Li Chengqian's words and deeds. Hearing this, he couldn't help but stop crying, and looked up at Li Chengqian in surprise.

Li Chengqian looked at them and said sincerely: "You may all know that the Lone King has something important to do when he goes to Youzhou, but in the eyes of the Lone King, nothing is as important as the drought. The livelihood of millions of people in Hebei Province is more important than anything else, so you don't have to worry about the Lone King curing your sin.

You are all subjects of the Lone King, and the Lone King will help you with disaster relief. ”

"Your Royal Highness the Prince, you are wise!" Chen Tiankui was moved from the bottom of his heart this time.

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, there have been constant disputes in the world. Most of the regimes in the Northern Dynasties were founded by the Hu people by force, and they did not pay attention to the livelihood of the people at the bottom except for wanton expropriation and extortion. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was even more tyrannical and ruined the country, and the east of the mountain was full of war, and the world was ten rooms and nine empty, "thousands of villages and Xuli people left arrows, and ten thousand households Xiao Shu ghosts sang." It is a portrayal of the Kanto countryside at that time.

The Tang Dynasty was based on the Guanlong military aristocratic group, based in Guanzhong, facing the northwest and fighting continuously.

At present, Li Shiji, the secretary of the military department, is on an eastward expedition, and all the grain and grass needed are transported from Luoyang, and if the canal is cut off due to disaster relief, the consequences will be unimaginable.

However, Li Chengqian had no intention of this, and only cared about the drought and the people.

After Li Chengqian said that, he waved to a dark and thin young man in the distance, and when the young man saw Li Chengqian calling him, he was stunned and did not dare to move.

Liu Kui hurriedly walked over and whispered, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince called you over." ”

The young man still didn't dare to move when he heard this, and Liu Kui couldn't just let the two chamberlains help him to Li Chengqian. As soon as the thin black young man arrived in front of Li Chengqian and saw Li Chengqian with a gentle smile on his face, he felt very cordial, and hurriedly lay on the ground and kowtowed to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian saw that he kowtowed eight or nine times in a row, and he didn't stop, so he smiled and said, "Stop, the lonely king has something to ask you." ”

The chamberlain who helped the black and thin young man to come over hurriedly lay down to support him, and said in a low voice: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to ask you." ”

"Oops!"

The thin black young man looked at the gentle smile on Li Chengqian's face, and was no longer afraid, but he still didn't know how to speak, just looked at Li Chengqian excitedly and waited for him to speak.

Li Chengqian looked at Wen Sheng and asked, "What's your name?"

"His name is Chen Wa'er, a well-known filial son." Chen Tiankui saw that Chen Wa'er couldn't speak, so he hurriedly answered for him.

Li Chengqian continued to ask, "How old are you this year?"

Chen Wa'er's family had already moved out of Chenjiabao, if it weren't for Chen Wa'er's filial piety to his mother, Chen Tiankui wouldn't know what Chen Wa'er's name was, and Chen Tiankui didn't know his age at first glance.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked you how old you are, you can reply quickly!" Chen Tiankui saw that Chen Wa'er couldn't speak for a long time, so he couldn't help urging.

Li Chengqian looked at Chen Wa'er with a smile and waited for him to speak, while Liu Kui unintentionally stared at Chen Tiankui, Chen Tiankui noticed it, his frightened neck shrank, and he hurriedly took a few steps back.

"It's been twenty-one years old." Chen Wa'er snorted for a long time before blushing.

"Twenty-one, did you marry a daughter-in-law?" Li Chengqian continued to ask.

Chen Wa'er seemed to have mentioned something sad when she heard this, and she didn't care about being afraid of Li Chengqian, so she lowered her head with a red face.

Li Chengqian saw that something was wrong, and when he was about to say something, he heard the crown princess Su Shi, who had been sitting quietly next to him, and said softly: "Chen Wa'er, if you have any difficulties, just tell His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the palace, and we will help you solve it." ”

Chen Wa'er looked up and saw that the beautiful and dignified princess was looking at him with concern, and her eyes immediately turned red.

After a while, he whispered: "My family lives outside the fort dock, and I can't afford to marry a daughter-in-law." ”

The crown princess looked at Chen Wa'er, who had always lowered her head, and asked, "How much does it cost you to marry a daughter-in-law here?"

"Our family lives outside the fort, and if we want to marry a daughter-in-law, we have to pay at least ten dollars."

"So much! It can't cost so much money to marry a daughter-in-law outside Chang'an City?" The crown princess was shocked when she heard this.

In China, there are more girls than boys in the absence of family planning. In addition, the Tang Dynasty has been fighting in all directions over the years, and even if men do not die in battle and engage in labor or something, there will always be fewer than women, so most people can marry daughters-in-law.

The reason is also very simple, do you think that people are poor, and people who are slightly better still think you don't have a dowry?

Generally, the right family, the poor find a poor family to marry, forget it, the girl can't work in the field, and there is no cheap advantage to raise her mother's family for one more day.

"How much does it cost a man who lives in the fort to marry a daughter-in-law?" Li Chengqian studied class struggle in later generations, and as soon as he heard it, he grasped the key point of Chen Wa'er's remarks.

"If you live in Baowu, you can marry a daughter-in-law for only two dollars." Chen Wa'er said truthfully.

Li Chengqian said in his heart: This is the same as in later generations, whoever has a big house in the city will be able to find a daughter-in-law.

"Are all these people here today living outside the fort?" Li Chengqian continued to ask.

Chen Wa'er nodded hurriedly.

Li Chengqian nodded at the crown princess, and the crown princess Su Shi hurriedly glanced back at her chamberlain and said, "Bring me what I prepared." ”

After a while, an attendant brought two horses of silk and ten hanging money, handed them to Chen Wa'er and said, "This is the princess's reward for marrying your daughter-in-law." ”

Chen Wa'er took the things and was at a loss again.

Li Chengqian glanced back at Chen Tiankui and said, "You go back and help Chen Wa'er marry a daughter-in-law." ”

Chen Tiankui hurriedly kowtowed to Li Chengqian and said, "On behalf of Chen Wa'er, the grass people thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess for their grace." ”

"Hmm"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the grace of the Crown Princess." Chen Wa'er was also busy kowtowing.

Next, Li Chengqian asked a few more people, these were the closest Chen Jiabao clansmen, and the situation was similar to Chen Wa'er.

Every time Li Chengqian summoned one, the crown princess gave out a bride price.

For a time, those who received the reward thanked Li Chengqian and the crown princess for their kindness, and those who did not receive the reward looked at Li Chengqian with blank eyes.

Li Chengqian stood up and smiled at everyone: "Your difficulties, the lonely king has all remembered them, and the lonely king will definitely let you all marry a daughter-in-law within two years." ”

Li Chengqian's words were passed on several times by Liu Kui and others, and finally let these people understand. Although they were skeptical, they had a little hope in the end.

Then Li Chengqian instructed the officials around him in front of everyone: "The drought in Hebei Province cannot be ignored, and the decree of King Gu can be used to irrigate mulberry fields with canal water everywhere."

In addition, the spring drought in Hebei Province has become a reality, and some people's fields do have nowhere to divert water for irrigation, and those whose fields cannot be cultivated come to Youzhou, and the lonely king gives them a bite to eat. ”

Li Chengqian made two orders and turned back, and the people who had been rewarded by the crown princess just now automatically set up a microphone in the crowd to promote these words for Li Chengqian.

……

……

"His Royal Highness the Prince, drought relief is important, but if the canal is dug up, I am afraid that it will be more troublesome." As soon as he returned to the bank of the canal, Hao Chujun saw that there were no outsiders, and hurriedly admonished Li Chengqian.

"Yes, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince should not be taken lightly." Gao Ji Fu Road.

"You don't have to worry about this, the Lone King has his own decision."

"His Royal Highness the Prince, even if you want to use the disaster victims to build Yandu, you have to use the canal to transport grain and grass materials to Youzhou." Wang Fangyi said.

"You don't have to worry about food, now you are doing your best to lure more people to Youzhou, which is the foundation for us to gain a firm foothold in Yandu." Li Chengqian's voice was firm and authentic.

Although everyone still had doubts in their hearts, they didn't say anything more when they saw that Li Chengqian had made up his mind.

"The ministers obey."