Originally, the third prince wanted to donate some food in addition to the dry food that the people brought themselves and the court provided part of the food. Based on the one-month construction period and the number of people who served as corvees in the Shengjing area in previous years, the third prince did not pay much.
But I bumped into Sheng Hong and he had other plans!
This is really not good luck.
Luck is also a part of strength. If the third prince is so unlucky, the throne must not belong to the third prince.
Chapter 160 The third prince’s good reputation spreads widely. The third prince’s momentum is unstoppable.
But obviously the third prince didn't think so.
After the third prince promised to donate 50,000 taels of silver and 500,000 jins of miscellaneous grains, he went to the Qiuxian Hall very diligently. He would ask about the progress in Tongzhou almost every day. If someone who didn't know saw it, He will definitely feel that Tongzhou Pier belongs to him.
The money has been released and the food has been donated, so this good reputation must be earned back.
Especially the money given to Zhou Zhengye!
He had tried to win over Zhou Zhengye before. Although Zhou Zhengye was his eldest brother's uncle, his eldest brother was a useless person.
Since the boss has no hope, he should give up his connections, so that when he ascends the throne in the future, he will definitely think of the boss and the Zhou family.
But who knew that Zhou Zhengye was very old-fashioned, as if he didn't understand his overtures, all the invitations he sent out were turned down because the Ministry of War was busy with affairs.
He, the third prince, has never asked anyone out once!
Why doesn't he hate this?
It was obvious that he, the third prince, was not taken seriously!
But this time, he was forced to donate 50,000 taels of silver to Zhou Zhengye, which really hurt him.
He can't be ignored in vain, he must get his good reputation back!
This time, he not only wanted to let his father know that he had changed, but also wanted to let the people know that his third prince, Sheng Zhiyan, was a good prince who understood the sentiments of the people and served the people wholeheartedly.
Now that Sheng Zhiang is finished, this prince...should be him, right?
Who can compete with him?
The eldest brother is eliminated directly, the second child has no ability to compete with him, and Xiao Qi has already offended half of the civil and military officials of the court.
Only the fourth and sixth brothers can compete with him.
However, these two have no intention of competing for the throne, do not make friends with courtiers, and do not like to be in the limelight.
So, besides him, who else can become the prince?
nobody!
Even God was helping him. After Sheng Zhiang's death, a natural disaster occurred directly.
The people indeed suffered great losses, but their homes were not completely destroyed. The disaster was just right.
He can withstand this level of natural disaster, and hopes that there will be similar natural disasters in the future so that he can show off his talents.
When the third prince tried to maximize the value of fifty thousand taels of silver and five hundred thousand catties of grain, Li Qiao's life returned to its former self:
Work as a writer all day long.
He had read the information on the Ministry of Household Affairs, but he had no idea how to replenish the treasury. Seeing this, Sheng Hong captured him as a young man. Moreover, because there were many courtiers coming and going in Qiuxian Hall every day, Sheng Hong specially used a screen to separate him into a small space so that he could concentrate on reviewing the memorials.
Yes, only a few people around Sheng Hong know that he can independently approve memorials.
But there is still a difference between now and the past. In the past, he was a ghostwriter. Even if he could independently review the memorials, Sheng Hong would not discuss government affairs with him much.
Now that he had been promoted, Sheng Hong suddenly liked to discuss affairs in the DPRK with him.
Not only the affairs of the household department, but also various matters in the six departments, Sheng Hong would ask him to discuss it for a few words whenever he was interested.
For example, in this assessment of the Ministry of War, all 100,000 people were tested, and more than 5,000 people were finally screened. Half of them chose to return to their hometowns or transfer to other places, and half chose to enter Royal Logistics.
Sheng Hong divided Royal Logistics into two parts, one part was used for daily running errands and delivering goods, and the other part was for forced training.
Li Qiao's original intention of establishing Logistics was to escort his money to Beijing. These forbidden troops must not neglect their training.
Moreover, when the Grand Canal is repaired and opened to navigation, it is inevitable that a department will be established to be responsible for the Grand Canal's affairs.
It coincided with the construction of the Grand Canal in Tongzhou, so Sheng Hongai and Li Qiao talked about the training of the Forbidden Army and various matters related to the Grand Canal.
Now Sheng Hong no longer hides anything from Li Qiao, and truthfully informs him about the training methods of the Forbidden Army.
The daily training items of the Forbidden Army include horseback riding, archery, wrestling, weight-bearing, forming formations, and memorizing various flags. After going to the battlefield, if the general wants to command the soldiers, he can't just rely on shouting. There are no communication tools here, so he can only use flags. to issue orders.
Sheng Hong told the truth, and Li Qiao inquired about what the real battlefield was like, and then "thought hard" for a few days, pretending to be racking his brains, and after a performance, he gave his suggestions.
In fact, the training methods of the Dasheng Forbidden Army are already very complete, and these training methods are enough to cope with the war at this time.
There are no hot weapons here. When soldiers go to the battlefield, they fight with cold weapons.
Cold weapon fighting relies on endurance, speed, and strength.
Therefore, Li Qiao's suggestion was simple: enhance the physical training of the Imperial Army.
He couldn't give him a better way. There was no shortcut to training troops.
By enhancing the physical fitness of soldiers among other items, they can stand to the end on the battlefield.
When Sheng Hong heard his answer, he could only sigh. After all, Li Aiqing was not omnipotent and could not give him one trick after another like Dim Sum.
But this proposal also made sense. He arranged for the Forbidden Army first.
Li Qiao met Sheng Hong's disappointed eyes with a look of shame on his face, but actually he felt at ease.
The combat power of the Forbidden Army and the Guards is actually quite good, and he really can't do anything fancy.
As for weapons, he could make earthen gunpowder, but that wasn't necessary.
In addition to holy favor, earth gunpowder will also arouse suspicion. There is no war in Dasheng now, so it is not necessary, really not necessary.
In addition to the training methods of the Forbidden Army, there is also the Grand Canal.
The Grand Canal has become the top priority in Sheng Hong's mind. He is looking forward to the completion of the Grand Canal as Li Xiaorui is waiting for the Tiger Scooter.
But building the Grand Canal is much more difficult than building a Tiger scooter. He can only live with his words since he won't be able to see the real thing in a short time.
For example, Li Qiao mentioned in his college examination article the various disadvantages that may be caused by the repair of the Grand Canal. Just as the third prince went to the Hall of Seeking Xian almost every day, he discussed with Li Qiao almost every day how to prevent those disadvantages. of production.
However, he was too eager for the Grand Canal to open to navigation soon. He could not suppress the restlessness in his heart just by thinking and talking!
On a good day, he paid a private visit incognito.
This time, he not only brought the guards, but also Li Qiao.
Tongzhou Pier is located southeast of Shengjing, about seventy miles away from Shengjing, but Sheng Hong was not in a hurry and set off slowly after dawn.
The road was not easy to walk, and the group arrived at the construction site just before noon.
All projects on the construction site were carried out in an orderly manner, and the people serving as corvees performed their duties. Although the officials in charge were strict, they did not beat or scold the people.
Sheng Hong was extremely satisfied with this private visit incognito. He didn't stay at the construction site for too long and took the people away quickly.
But the sky was short at this time, and by the time they entered the city, it was already dark.
It was already eight o'clock in the evening when Li Qiao got home. Everyone else had gone back to the house after dinner, but Tao Zhu was still waiting for him in the room.
Seeing him coming back, Tao Zhu immediately asked Li He to go to the kitchen to bring the food.
"Why are you back so late?" Tao Zhu asked as he picked up the kettle from the stove and poured water for him to wash his hands and face.
"I followed the Lord to Tongzhou today. The Lord didn't mention this matter yesterday. I only found out about it after entering the palace."
Li Qiao explained.
"The Holy One finally couldn't bear it anymore?"
Tao Zhu couldn't help laughing when he heard this.
He certainly knew Sheng Hong's desire for the Grand Canal.
"Yes, I couldn't help it, I had to see it with my own eyes."
Li Qiao also laughed and put his hand into the copper basin and said: "Everything is fine at the construction site. It was almost noon when we arrived, so the Holy Father took the opportunity to check on the workers' lunch."
"The lunch was quite good. There was not much oil and water, it was boiled fried shredded radish, and the freshly steamed multigrain pancakes were much better than the unpalatable old wild vegetable food in Sanliu Village. Moreover, the people were talking about three things while eating. The prince is kind."
Thinking of the scene at noon, Li Qiao looked playful again.
"Huh?" Tao Zhu was puzzled. He handed him the pancake and asked, "Talking about the kindness of the third prince?"
"Yes, there are three hundred people per kitchen on the construction site. Your Majesty walked around several kitchens in succession and heard the people praising the Third Prince for his kindness and understanding of their difficulties. He is a rare prince who is close to the people."
"The third prince achieved his goal. Although he suffered a little blood, he did earn a good reputation."
Tao Zhu pursed his lips as he spoke.
The third prince's money and food were not wasted.
He was a little unhappy.
He did not want the third prince to be the next emperor of Dasheng.
"At that time, His Majesty's expression was as usual, but Mr. Li, a member of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, took the initiative to explain the reason. It turned out that the third prince was really dedicated to serving the people. He went to the construction site once every three days, each time with the truck of the grain transport team. Show up at the construction site.”
"He himself never said anything, but the personal guards and eunuchs around him would loudly emphasize how much the third prince cares about the people when they were communicating with people at the construction site. He originally planned to only send food this time, but the third prince I couldn’t bear the common people eating wild vegetables, so I bought fresh radishes and cabbages.”
"So, the people on the construction site should remember the Third Prince."
Li Qiao said, taking the cotton towel handed over by Tao Zhu and wiping his hands, with a hint of sarcasm on his face: "He spent one penny to create a hundred penny movement."
"...Then what does the Holy One say?" Although Tao Zhu looked down upon this kind of behavior, the key was what the Holy One thought of it.
"The Holy One didn't say anything."
But Sheng Hong should also look down on this kind of behavior, right?
Sheng Hong and Sheng Jun, father and son, supported Dasheng's officials and occasionally had to subsidize money into the treasury. But did the father and son say anything?
Not to mention ordinary people, even he only found out about this when he became an official.
However, even if Sheng Hong looked down upon this kind of behavior, he would not go out of his way to summon the third prince to the Qixian Hall to educate him.
At present, the fifth prince is finished, the other princes are not showing up, and the third prince has no opponent, so he can just jump around as hard as he can.
