In the small palace, a group of palace guards left the room in embarrassment. Li Tai looked back and saw that these people were still prepared to rush into the room to protect his father.
The quarrel in the room became louder and louder. Li Tai wiped the sweat from his forehead, worried about his brother-in-law and father, and wondered if they would make any move.
Here you can hear the sound of rain falling on the roof. This sound will not make people upset, but it will make people meditate unconsciously.
In the room, when talking about the Hexi Corridor, Li Shimin was upset because of the huge burden of the construction of Jiayuguan Pass.
Now listening to what Zhang Yang said, Li Shimin waved his sleeves,
"You can even make money from the wool that the Turks don't want, but you can't sell the grain?" Zhang Yang stared at the emperor, looked away and shook his head.
"Thirty-seven million stones of grain, all sold out? Even if I can't stuff enough grain into the mouths of the people from the Western Regions, are you kidding me? Ha! It's really interesting." Li Shimin breathed heavily,
"Okay, let me ask you, Lishan has 70% of the taxes on the Hexi Corridor. Now the tariffs are increased, and then the taxes are collected on the sales of alcohol. In the end, both the alcohol sales and taxes have gone into your pocket." He pointed his finger. Looking at him, the emperor was trembling with anger.
"Zhang Yang, you are so calculating."
"Hahaha!" Zhang Yang raised his head and laughed: "That is the capital of my Lishan Mountain. Since Your Majesty is not willing, then let us invest the total capital of Lishan in the construction of the Hexi Corridor of 57,000 guan. Just pay back the money and pay taxes." Lishan will not interfere in this matter."
"You..." Li Shimin was so angry that his face was twitching at the moment. There was no fifty-seven thousand guan in the court. He was thankful to have even 5,000 guan.
Whoever is allowed to be arrogant will not be tolerated. Li Shimin picked up a jar and threw it to the ground.
"How dare you! Zhang Yang, how dare you threaten me." After the words fell, the earthen jars on the ground were smashed, and a group of guards in front of the palace pushed the door in again.
Before the visitor could speak, he heard His Majesty shouting: "Get out!" The guards were frightened, shrank their heads, and hurriedly retreated and closed the door.
"I am not threatening Your Majesty, I am just stating the facts." Both sides were angry at this moment. The heavier the rain outside, the more angry the emperor felt.
"You were just a country boy back then, but now you can preach to me?" Zhang Yang looked directly at the other person,
"Can your Majesty not be unreasonable?"
"What do you understand? Do you have any respect for me?"
"Your Majesty, don't you blush when you say this? Didn't your Majesty do a lot of things secretly? Monitor Lishan, arrange spies in the Foreign Affairs Academy, and even his own son can use it!" Zhang Yang said loudly: "I dare to ask your Majesty, how can the ministers respect you? , it’s too late for me to hide, how can I be honest? How can I be honest with each other." Li Shimin was also a general who was galloping around the world and killed countless people. His heart was filled with anger. At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot.
"You bastard, how dare you talk to me like this."
"I'm a bastard! But I want face."
"You said I'm shameless?" Li Shimin took two steps back and forth, wanting to chop this kid into pieces with a handy weapon.
Picking up the chair next to him, there was a voice advising in his heart. It was the family affection and conscience hidden in the emperor's heart.
After all, he is Yue'er's husband and the children's brother-in-law. He gritted his teeth and put the chair down again.
The monarch and his ministers kept their faces red and stretched out their necks, shouting and scolding each other for a long time, just like two partners who were sharing the spoils unevenly. The room became quiet again. Li Tai put his ear against the door, trying to hear clearly the next conversation in the room. He frowned and moved his ear again.
Li Zhi walked up cautiously, watching the emperor's movements, and listened carefully with his ear against the door. The monarch and his ministers sat down again, spoke out what they had been holding in their hearts, and now calmed down again.
I felt much better once I spoke out what I was holding in my heart. Li Shimin looked at the rainy scene outside without saying a word for a long time. He looked at a field of yellow-green crops from a distance, and the rain kept falling on it.
The water in the field ditches flows rapidly to the Weishui River.
"You said that I am shameless, but you are not a good person." After counting the many bad things that the monarch and his ministers had done over the years, they argued with each other for half an hour, but Li Shimin did not want to reconcile with Zhang Yang.
It was the time of the Tang Dynasty to employ people. Before his value was used up, there was no time to hang him in front of Chengtian Gate.
With anger still in his eyes, Li Shimin slowly said: "Those grains can be turned into wine, but Lishan must not sell them to Guanzhong."
"Your Majesty can repair the Wude Hall and the river outside the Xuanwu Gate, but it is not yet time to dig the Taiye Pond." Zhang Yang also looked out the window.
There are two windows in this room, both facing the southeast, and there is still thunder in the sky.
"I will also give you a sum of money for other purposes."
"Your Majesty, please clarify the purpose."
"Long Wujun." Li Shimin whispered. The Longwu Army is a troop directly under His Majesty's command. Whatever this troop does depends on His Majesty's command, and it rarely appears in front of others.
After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he transformed the original Longwu Army into the Yulin Army to guard inside and outside the imperial city. But this Yulin Army was just a part of the original Longwu Army. There was another Longwu Army outside, but it was just erased from the files of the Ministry of War.
When it comes to military power, the emperor will also keep his own troops in his hands. As well as the founding generals of the past, how many of them still hold military power now?
Since Gao Shilian left the court and Li Shimin returned to power, he cleaned the court and reshuffled the court structure. The current civil and military situation of the Tang Dynasty has become what the emperor wanted.
You can't ask too much about some things, because knowing too much will make you lose your head. It's okay to do bad things with the emperor, but you have to ask how much power the emperor has. If you know the emperor's strength, it's not far from being killed.
Zhang Yang stood with his hands behind his back.
"Okay." Li Shimin said again: "You will still be in charge of the affairs of Shangshu Province. You don't have to come to the court. Lishan must print another 30,000 volumes within this year, and Lishan needs to spend 5,000 The stone and iron materials are handed over to the court." The iron materials in Lishan were the iron nails that were originally given to Li Shimin, and he showed the emperor how to cast them.
Zhang Yang nodded and said: "I said at the beginning that your Majesty can know the method of casting, but casting is not allowed in the army. If you want Lishan to provide high-quality iron materials, your Majesty must abide by the original agreement."
"If it were anyone else who could negotiate this condition with me, he would be dead."
"Sheji needs Lishan to provide high-end technology and large-scale productivity." Zhang Yang raised his head and said: "This is all for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and the strength of the Central Plains." Li Shimin glanced at him sideways, and the man was actually a little sad.
I always feel like this guy is being hypocritical. Lishan has been under construction for many years, and now it has finally achieved some results. Li Shimin looked solemn and a little more greedy.
Whether it is movable type printing or the method of forging iron, these are what the government needs now. Lishan's productivity all serves people's livelihood, and it seems to be the case now.
You cannot trust this son-in-law 100%. Anyone who believes in him will not end well if his country is ruined and his family is destroyed. For example, Gaochang and Tuyuhun, or the children of aristocratic families in Luoyang, or the Western Turks.
Li Shimin watched little by little as Gaochang went from short-lived prosperity to self-destruction. Watching the children of Luoyang's aristocratic families go from crazy to now being prisoners.
Zhang Yang is a person who hides his true thoughts deeply. He is not like Li Jing, nor is he Changsun Wuji or Fang Xuanling.
It is difficult for people to trust such a person. Father Huang and Xiao Gong always said that Zhang Yang had a pure heart and was a good boy.
But he is Zhang Gongjin's disciple. Since he became Zhang Gongjin's disciple, his actions have become more and more bold, and his plans have become bigger and bigger.
Zhang Gongjin was also a world-famous counselor at that time. There are no good disciples of a counselor. Li Shimin's eyes were gloomy, and he stood up again and opened the door.
As the door opened, Li Tai and Li Zhi, who were leaning on the door to eavesdrop, lost their support and fell to the ground.
He glanced at his father timidly, stood up and saluted in embarrassment, and said in unison: "Father." Seeing that his son was actually eavesdropping, Li Shimin's forehead veins jumped, and he nodded and looked at them,
"What are you doing?" Li Tai coughed,
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty came to Zhang Yang and asked him for some salted duck eggs." Noticing Li Tai's look for help, Zhang Yang sighed: "His Royal Highness the King of Wei can just go to the duck pen to get the eggs." Li Tai adjusted himself He put on his own clothes and saluted: "Father, I have gone to prepare meals." Li Shimin stared at Li Zhi,
"Are you here for salted duck eggs too?"
"My son?" Li Zhi glanced at Li Tai who was going downstairs, and followed him down the stairs in a panic.
"Brother, please wait for me. I also want salted duck eggs." Li Shimin glared at the group of guards standing at the top of the stairs.
A group of guards put the Hengdao into its scabbard, bowed and left in a hurry. Zhang Yang straightened the table eucalyptus again, picked up all the pieces of the earthen jar on the ground, and then swept the floor carefully.
Li Shimin sat down and watched him quietly doing these things, and then whispered: "None of my sons are decent." Zhang Yang continued to sweep the floor.
Li Shimin added: "The prince is kind to others, but he follows the crowd too much and does not have his own opinion in his heart. Such a person will be influenced by others sooner or later. I often think about how to teach him, but I am also powerless." Li Chengqian is the crown prince, and he and Li Tai is different.
As long as Li Tai doesn't make a big mistake, Li Shimin will naturally not care. But the prince is different. In order to inherit the throne of the Tang Dynasty, he must be able to control his ministers and be able to see and recognize people.
I just listened to His Majesty whispering about the prince, King Wei, Li Zhi and other sons. Zhang Yang took a closer look and saw that there was no dirt on the ground, so it looked more pleasing to the eye. It was okay to break some things, since King Wei had arranged them anyway.
"The iron material cast in Lishan can be handed over to the court. How much will your Majesty ask for?" When it came to the price, Li Shimin hesitated, wondering if the son-in-law still wanted to quarrel.
"If the government can't come up with enough silver, it doesn't matter. We can exchange it for more iron ore. How about exchanging one pound of iron for seven hundred pounds of iron ore?"
"One exchange for seven hundred? You really can speak." Zhang Yang wiped the table in front of His Majesty again and said with a smile: "The technology is worth the price. Lishan only gives it to Chao Zhong and not to others." His heart was about to rise. The anger was extinguished again.
Just as Zhang Yang said, technology is worth the price. Li Shimin said solemnly: "Can Lishan's forging technology be further refined?" Zhang Yang smiled and said: "Technical production is not like training one's mind and physical strength. In addition to hard work and Persistence, the next bottleneck period for Lishan is construction."
"Elaborate." After calming down, what he cared about most was Lishan's production achievements. Today's Lishan Mountain is a treasure house. When it begins to explode with potential, Li Shimin feels that the day when Zhang Yang hangs in front of Chengtian Gate is closer.
"The next goal is to increase the investment in the construction of the blacksmith shop, and continue to expand the expenses, and build new furnaces and die-casting facilities. This is not something that can be accomplished overnight. When our forged iron in Lishan reaches a certain strength, Then you can move on to the next stage.”
"What's the next stage?" It's still raining outside the window. The June rain has no intention of stopping. Looking out the window, the water level of the Weishui River is also much higher.
Rather than saying that it is raining, it is better to say that God is pouring water. Zhang Yang said with emotion: "I don't know where the goal is for the next stage. We have to look at the current limit of productivity saturation before we can make arrangements for the future." The rain is so heavy that it will not stop for a while.
Zhang Yang saw a group of palace servants and eunuchs moving everything in. There were more and more people in this small palace, so he said: "Your Majesty, have a good rest." There were still many things in his stomach that had not been taken out, but Li Shimin Laughed,
"It's raining so hard to prevent the children from catching a cold. Qingque has already sent people to prepare meals. You can stay and eat before going back."
"I am respectful, so it is better to obey my orders." Under the eaves, Li Yue, the Queen and a group of children saw His Majesty and Zhang Yang walking out safely and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Little Sizi ran over happily,
"Brother-in-law." The maid on the side saw this. Although the little princess and Zhang Yang did not meet many times, there was an emotional connection between the little princess and the county prince, because Princess Jinyang was the first to speak. The person calling was this brother-in-law.
Zhang Yang picked up the little Sizi and said,
"Your Highness the Princess has grown a lot taller."
"Hehe." Xiao Sizi grinned.
"The imperial brothers and sisters all went to Lishan to learn skills. The queen mother said that when Sizi grows up, he can also go to Lishan to learn skills." Seeing that little Sizi is so close to this brother-in-law, there are other children too. Li Shimin felt a little sad towards this brother-in-law, as their father. Unknowingly, Yue'er and Zhang Yang from Lishan had become the backbone of the children's hearts.
Zhang Yang frowned and said: "Lishan's skills are difficult to learn. Your imperial brother is very stupid and can't learn it even after learning for a long time." She raised her head proudly,
"Si Zi is very smart." Princess Li Mingda of Jinyang, also known as Si Zi, was a child with very smart eyes. Historical records record that Princess Jinyang died young.
Be it Li Tai or Li Chengqian. As a brother-in-law, the most important thing now is that all of these younger brothers and sisters are well.
They are all my younger brothers and sisters. In the words of my daughter-in-law, they have a lot of things to worry about in the future. But now it seems that everyone is doing well, and the Tang Dynasty must also be doing well.
