The marriage of Princess Nanping was originally not big news, and the courtiers knew about it. But the matter of worshipping in Wang Qi's mansion is big news. Wang Jue asked the princess to kneel down and worship her in-laws, and Li Xiaogong, who said politely, was powerless to refute. But no one thought that King Ji would be speechless as a child, and even toast to make amends. And the political interests involved in the middle are so great that hundreds of officials have to pay attention. If this matter is successful, Wang Jue succeeds. The royal family was lowered by one level. In this way, it is closer to the class of civil and military officials. This is the fundamental reason why the literati desperately exalted Confucianism. Everyone benefits. Now it didn't work out. also asked Li Shen to make it clear. It's going to be hard to do things in the future.

Li Shimin, who had already received Li An's report from the Ganlu Palace, fell into deep thought. Ang Lee is a word-for-word report. There are even written records. So Li Shimin was thinking about the meaning of Li Shen's words. Li Chengqian is also studying in the Ganlu Hall today, and he has just heard Li An's report. I was also surprised. Unexpectedly, Li Shen was speechless and apologized to a scholar of the Ministry of Rites.

"Gao Ming, what do you think of this matter" Li Shimin wanted to take the school exam for Li Chengqian

"Aye, the tenth brother is too capable. And it's bold, too. The public directly rebuked Shangshu. ”

"Be smart, it depends on the essence of the matter. Li Shen's move was to maintain the status and face of the royal family. I was wrong. In the past, I felt that I wanted to be close to the people, and I wanted to make them feel that I was kind and respectful. But I didn't expect Li Shen to be right. We are royal, so we should have the status that royalty should have. A king is a king, and a minister is a minister. I can give you the treatment you deserve, but you should also be loyal to me and think of me in everything. Wang Qi is a little bit of an inch. Does he really want to be my equal? Li Shen was right. This opening is open. After that, the royal family became less and less majestic in the eyes of the courtiers. They will use various reasons to lower my royal prestige in the future. Hey~~ Why didn't I think of this? In the long run, will my royal family still be majestic? Is there still a status? What is the difference with the people? I almost missed future generations. Li Shimin thought about what Li Shen said and understood his own understanding. In fact, he didn't know that Li Shen said it in order to maintain the nobility of his prince.

"It turns out that the tenth brother is so far-sighted. also dared to say it in public. I'm not as good as him. Li Chengqian sighed to himself after listening to Li Shimin's analysis

"Gao Ming, don't be presumptuous, Li Shen, this kid is greedy for money, not to mention, he has no ambitions. I asked him to go to court more than once, but he refused on the excuse that he was too young and didn't understand. Later, I asked Wei Guifei, but Wei Guifei told me that Li Shen slept until three poles in the sun every day. Wei Guifei said that Li Shen didn't go to court because he didn't want to get up early, you don't want to get up early! Hmph, this rebel, so lazy. I'm still thinking that if you succeed to the throne in the future, he can assist you. I'm afraid it's difficult," Li Shimin was also heartbroken.

Li Chengqian laughed after hearing this. His tenth brother is really talented. The way of thinking about things is different from ordinary people. But it can often be said in one sentence. Solving things is simple and crude, but it works wonders. is lazy and greedy for money. Determined to be a businessman.

"Alright. Don't talk about this rebel. Today, Kannai Province is in a hurry, and seven of the 27 prefectures in Kannai Province have seen large-scale locust plagues. Most of them have been cut off or reduced. The affected areas are spreading. Especially Huazhou, Tongzhou, Fangzhou, and Danzhou are particularly serious, and Huazhou Tongzhou is very close to Jingzhaofu and Chang'an. It may soon be disaster as well. What do you think about it? Li Shimin asked Li Chengqian

Natural disasters have been an important factor in the extinction of human beings since ancient times. Locust plagues are also a type of natural disaster. And every time there is a disaster, there will be rumors that the local officials or the emperor are unethical.

"The child feels that the first thing to do is to stabilize the people's hearts and control the disaster. After that, the states and counties with large losses were exempted from taxes. Distribution of food. Li Chengqian thought for a while and said

"Hmm. Decent, not bad. But there's one thing you forget. It is to prevent the young people from taking advantage of the chaos to induce the people to rebel. ”

Subsequently, Li Shimin instructed Li Chengqian on how to deal with the disaster and other matters. The specific operation will have to wait until tomorrow to discuss in the court

Early the next morning, Li Shen was woken up by a stone. Li Shen's face was unhappy.

"Stone, if there is nothing important, you can dig the manure tank for me."

"Lord Wang, I just heard that Guannai Dao has suffered a plague of locusts. There are several states. I heard that it is still spreading. Said it was coming soon. Our tens of thousands of acres of land in Huangzhuang should have been prepared in advance, and we have enough food for the people of Huangzhuang for a few years. ”

"What, locust plague. Several states have been devastated. Li Shen was in good spirits all of a sudden. Li Mengjiang's princess opportunity has come. I'm worried that I don't have a chance.

"Let's go, hurry up to the Tai Chi Temple. At this time, I haven't gone down to the court, "Hurry up and wash and dress." Change into royal clothes and prepare to go to court

"By the way, Shishi, you go out of the palace now and let Wang Hongfu buy as much food as possible. Collect it from the merchant who bought the wine. Let them help transport it. Shipping costs we out. But tell them that if they want to take advantage of the price increase, then we will double the number of drinks we sell to them. Let Wang Hongfu build a list of good partners. In the future, there will be a limited supply of new commodities, so go quickly" Li Shen rushed to the Taiji Hall after instructing the stone

At this moment, the Taiji courtiers are discussing countermeasures. Tang Jian, the secretary of the household department, is reporting to Li Shimin

"Your Majesty, seven states have been affected this time. Many prefectures are out of production. More than 100,000 households were affected. It is estimated that 300,000 people will need money and food, but now the locust plague is still spreading. How much it will end up is unknown. It is still necessary to get a good grasp of the control of the locust plague first. It is now the time when the household department is in short supply, and now there are only 600,000 people in the treasury. Of these, 300,000 were for the Ministry of War. Do you want to slow down for a while, and wait until the disaster is over. ”

"No, I can't. It has now been three months in arrears. The morale of the army is low. If there is a war, how to go to the battlefield. "Hou Junji, the secretary of the military department, is gone. In this way. The guards will say that he is incompetent. Even the military pay was released.

"Well, you can't be in arrears with the soldiers' salaries. Is there any other way? Li Shimin said

"Your Majesty, that's all there is to the treasury. And if the locust plague intensifies, it spreads. 300,000 is never enough. Tang Jian returned

"Fang Qing, what can you do?" Li Shimin asked Fang Xuanling again,

"Your Majesty. At this time, it is still necessary to solve the spread of the locust plague. The people thought that the locust plague was a crime sent from heaven, so they did not dare to catch it. The imperial court should have issued an edict for the people to catch locusts and bury them. It's just that I don't know how many people will do it, "During the Tang Dynasty, catching locusts were dried and buried."

"Well, this plague of locusts is so laborious to manage. Someone starves to death every time. Under the edict, if anyone dares to be greedy for money and food for disaster relief this time, no matter how much. There is no mercy for killing. All property was confiscated. Li Shimin can't help it.

Wang De came over and said something in Li Shimin's ear. Li Shimin looked up at the door of the hall and said, "Let him come in."