When we arrived at Tongguan from Hedong, it was already deep winter in Guanzhong, but there was still no snow.
This makes the scenery along the way less interesting.
Li Zhi and Di Renjie rode horses and walked not very fast. In the distance, a group of people were laying the foundation of the road.
Walk a little further and you can see the railroad tracks.
There are a few more craftsmen who are arranging work for the civilian workers.
Di Renjie stepped forward and asked: "I didn't expect that Lishan has built the railway to Tongguan."
There was some pride in the look of the craftsman. He pointed to the other end and replied: "We are going to build a station in Tongguan, and we are also going to build the railway to Luoyang, connecting Luoyang and Chang'an City."
Di Renjie asked curiously: "Didn't it lead to the Hexi Corridor before?"
The craftsman said: "That's what I thought at first, but things were not as simple as expected. The environment there was not suitable for laying railways. Master Yan and the others tried many times and failed, so they gave up."
Building the railway was not smooth sailing. It seemed that there must have been many setbacks.
Everyone found a posthouse to rest. Di Renjie and Li Zhi sat by the fire, keeping warm while talking about the significance of laying the railway to Luoyang.
Gongsun Xiaoniang sat aside, her little face flushed by the heat of the flames. When the tea boiled, she poured a cup for His Highness Prince Jin.
"Guanzhong has been guarding Hangu Pass. If we control Guanzhong, we can invade the Central Plains. If the railway can be laid to Luoyang, the emperor's control over the Central Plains will be stronger."
Di Renjie expressed his thoughts.
Li Zhi drank tea and sighed: "If you really just think that, you are looking down on my brother-in-law and father."
"Is it not?"
Di Renjie frowned and scratched the back of his head.
Li Zhi whispered: "There are many reasons why my brother-in-law laid the railway regardless of the cost. Many times we thought it was difficult to quell the chaos, and it was also difficult to expand the territory. But after we got the artillery, we realized that all this is very simple. .”
Di Renjie nodded and said nothing.
"In the past, someone in the court advised my father to move the capital to Luoyang, not once or twice, saying that the water and soil in Guanzhong were no longer conducive to farming. At that time, my brother-in-law was the minister of Taifu Temple and encouraged my father to build Guanzhong."
Di Renjie wondered: "Is it because of these things that Lishan was allowed to build a railway?"
Li Zhi shook his head and said: "I don't know, but the significance of the railway is definitely more important."
At dawn, everyone set off. It finally snowed today, which made Li Zhi feel a lot better.
Entering Tongguan, you will reach Qinchuan, which is 800 miles away. At first glance, you can see neat trees planted on both sides of the official road.
But it's winter now, and there are no leaves on the branches, and they look depressed.
There are many pedestrians coming and going on the official road.
After stopping and stopping along the way, it took another three days to reach Lishan Mountain.
Today, the station three miles away from Lishan is very busy, and it has become a cargo distribution center for counties in Guanzhong.
The person who received Li Zhi and his party was the warrior Xun, who led them into the station and rested for a while in a small hut on the side.
With the dust coming, Li Zhi planned to wash up and change into clean clothes before entering Lishan Mountain.
After listening to Samurai Yu's story, I realized that this station has now become a distribution center for goods from various counties in Guanzhong.
Since Guanzhong controls the export trade channels and the operation of the Hexi Corridor, they are willing to hand over the goods to Lishan for export.
Warrior Xun whispered: "Now in Guanzhong, all counties are stockpiling silver, and copper coins are not important anymore. All bulk goods are shipped with silver cakes."
After Li Zhi scrubbed and put on clean clothes, he said again: "How is your father's health?"
The King of Jin was not interested in the affairs of Guanzhong. He was worried about his father's illness.
The warrior Yu looked at the wind and snow outside the house, and he was also worried. The only other worry was that his daughter Xiaowu was already over 20 years old and at the age of marriage.
A few days ago, Xiao Wu's sister Wu Shun came to visit her and talked about Xiao Wu's marriage.
Seeing that King Jin had changed his clothes, the warrior Yu got up and led the people to the village. He said, "Today, the guards in Lishan are stricter than before. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he sent more troops to Lishan." .”
Li Zhi replied: "It was the emperor's brother who wanted to protect his father's safety out of filial piety, so he arranged for people to protect Lishan."
Warrior Xun whispered: "Who knows."
I don't think so outside the village, but when I walk into the village, the changes here are even greater. The houses here have obviously been renovated.
There is also a notice posted at the entrance of the village, which is a notice of a sanitation model county. The construction of public toilets and household toilets has become the standard of a sanitation model county.
Warrior Xun said: "The selection of this year's labor model counties and health model counties has not been released yet."
Li Zhi nodded and said, "That's what I think."
In the village, Zhang Yang, Li Shimin, and Weng's son-in-law were sitting at the foot of the mountain, and their chess pieces were fighting on the chessboard.
There were maids and eunuchs holding umbrellas on the side to prevent annoying snowflakes from falling on His Majesty and the Marquis.
Zhang Yang clasped his hands, feeling a little cramped due to the cold, "How about forgetting it and admitting defeat."
Li Shimin, whose beard was half white, stroked his beard and said, "If I had given up defeat so easily back then, how could I have pacified the Central Plains?"
Older people like to talk about their bravery in the past. Zhang Yang said discouragedly: "You can't finish talking about the past. On this chessboard, there are only these three or five rows of chess pieces. The chessboard is very simple. If you lose, you lose. If you win, you will lose." If you win, you win."
Li Shimin reluctantly pushed a chess piece.
Zhang Yang's horse jumped another step and said: "General."
Li Shimin raised his general.
Zhang Yang pushed the car down again.
Li Shimin wanted to move his general again, but he was already being checked in the opposite direction. He said again: "If you fall behind one step, you will control me everywhere. I am one step behind you. Come again! I will go first with red in this game."
His Majesty was so focused on playing chess with the county prince that he did not notice Li Zhi and Di Renjie standing aside.
Zhang Yang took a look and gave a pertinent smile.
Li Zhi bowed slightly.
Only then did Li Shimin notice his son beside him, and said again: "Child slave, are you back?"
Li Zhi saluted and said: "Father, my son is back. He traveled from the Hexi Corridor to Jiangnan for one year, and from Jiangnan to Liaodong back to Guanzhong for another year."
Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Your mother is making buns in a nearby room. Go and have a look."
Tian Khan dismissed his son lightly.
Normally, when a child returns from a long journey, his parents should be happy.
But Tian Khan has always cared about the world. He had so many sons and daughters that he was troubled by these children even after he retired in old age.
When Li Zhi came back, he just said a faint word.
Now I just want to have a good fight with this son-in-law on the chessboard.
Zhang Yang whispered: "Your Majesty seems to have something on his mind."
Li Shimin whispered: "It's not that Cheng Qian is too eager for quick success."
Li Zhi walked into a nearby room. It was very busy here. The queen mother was taking a few women to make steamed buns.
"Zhinu, are you back?"
Seeing the queen's smile, Li Zhi also smiled, "Well, the child is back."
Li Tai came out with a piece of white jade food, "Zhinu, please try it quickly."
Li Zhi asked curiously: "What is this?"
Li Tai replied: "This is tofu."
"Tofu?" Li Zhi said in a low voice with curiosity on his face: "It's a square piece of white jade, it's so beautiful, how can I bear to eat it?"
"After we have overcome the problem of brine in Lishan, it will be much easier to make tofu."
Li Tai added: "This thing is called tofu, which means tofu. Tofu is a blessing. We are all blessed, and we are blessed with good health!"
"This is the result of labor wisdom, and it is also the most wonderful food in the world. When you eat tofu, you think about the wisdom of labor benefiting thousands of people."
Li Zhi took a bite of tofu with a wooden spoon, put it in his mouth, savored it carefully, and said with a smile: "This is the most delicious food my brother has ever eaten in his life."
"Young slaves don't know. This tofu can be stewed, fried, or made into soup. There are many ways to eat it."
Li Zhi looked at Brother Wei Wang. He was still as keen on eating as before.
The dishes on the tables of the Tang people are becoming more and more abundant, and the people of the Tang Dynasty will definitely become stronger.
Li Tai has lost a lot of weight now, but the fat on his face is not lost at all.
The results of weight loss are not great, but after persisting year after year, I finally get some results.
It's the New Year's Eve, and Dean Li Tai can take some time off. Lishan's Technical Institute has also suspended classes. After the New Year's Eve, classes will resume next year.
…
However, there are still many problems in the DPRK, because the new emperor was too eager for quick success and quick success and wanted to do everything, including the governance of Liaodong and the construction of the Supervisory Yuan.
At the same time, we must continue to expand teaching support, and even continue to use money to build bookstores for county exams and state capitals.
Under the increasing supervision, many state officials have been replaced.
In all likelihood, the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty has changed.
One month later, the cold winter comes, just before the New Year's holiday.
There is a huge problem in front of Li Chengqian. Due to the excessive use of copper coins in the court, the value of copper coins has been threatened. If this continues, money will no longer become money.
In the Taiji Hall, Li Chengqian held another court meeting. At this moment, the hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
This was a huge crisis, and both civil and military officials in the court remained silent.
The new emperor Li Chengqian held his forehead in pain and sat on the throne with a gloomy expression.
Suddenly a voice sounded in the hall.
"It turns out this is the Tai Chi Hall."
Everyone looked around and saw a girl of twelve or thirteen years old. She walked into the Tai Chi Hall as if there was no one else around and looked around.
She added: "It turns out that Tai Chi Palace isn't that good either? I thought it was so magnificent."
The girl walked in the middle of the two rows of pilgrims with her hands on her back and her head raised, looking around all the time.
"Don't you all use glass for your windows?"
The girl spoke again.
Everyone was speechless and a little puzzled. Why did such a girl walk into the palace without any guards reporting her or anyone to report her?
She continued: "It's too cold here. The windows should be enlarged. It's obviously a hall facing north and south and facing the sun. It shouldn't be like this. It seems that it needs to be renovated."
Finally, someone who was standing in the courtroom couldn't bear it any longer. He stood up and shouted at the courtroom class and asked, "Who are you? How dare you act so recklessly in the Tai Chi Hall."
The girl looked calm and said calmly: "My surname is Zhang, and my home is in Lishan."
"You can't be arrogant here, get out now!"
"Seeing as your official rank is not high, why do you stand up before the current emperor speaks?"
As soon as this statement came out, all the civil and military officials in the court were talking about it.
This girl is indeed so courageous. She dares to say such words. What does it mean that the current emperor has not spoken? She has not saluted since entering the palace, and she even dares to say something wrong with the Tai Chi Palace.
She thought this place was somewhere, this was the Tai Chi Palace, in front of the emperor and at the feet of the emperor.
In the class, only Cen Wenwen looked at the girl with a smile.
Xu Jingzong was very distressed. He just wanted to cover his face and crawl into the cracks in the ground. How could he let her do such nonsense?
Others don't know this girl's identity, but they both know it very well.
"Uncle Wenwen, Uncle Xu!" She suddenly waved.
In the hall, everyone's eyes turned and fell on Cen Wenwen and Xu Jingzong.
Cen Wenwen smiled and nodded.
Xu Jingzong sighed, with a dark face. He felt very embarrassed at this moment, very embarrassed.
There were more discussions and voices in the hall, and the hall was noisy for a while.
The girl suddenly took out a roll of paper and said loudly: "I have a good recipe in my hand that can solve the court's dilemma."
After the words fell, everyone's eyes fell on the girl again.
She continued calmly: "Since the Han Dynasty, copper coin casting has also seen unrestrained situations. Since ancient times, there have been many situations like this. There are kings who let it go, and there are kings who want to govern it."
"But this good thing in my hand can solve the current predicament in the court and prevent the Tang Dynasty from encountering such predicaments in the past hundred years. Perhaps such predicaments can be avoided in the next few hundred years."
A civil servant stood up and shouted at the class: "Who are you!"
The girl continued: "I told you, my surname is Zhang, and my home is in Lishan."
Someone else asked: "Why do you say that what you have in your hand is a good remedy!"
"Alas..." Zhang Qingqing sighed and said to himself: "If I had known better, I would have listened to my father and wouldn't have done this."
Wearing a beautiful light red coat, she stood there with her hands folded and said, "I'm so sorry. As expected, none of you will remember the benefits of Lishan."
Some veterans of the court looked at the girl, and others commented that the girl's features looked very similar to the same person, and that the legendary figure had left the court for a long time.
Zhang Qingqing handed the "good prescription" in his hand to the accusing civil servant in front of him, and said: "You can give it a try. I want to see other places in the palace and will stay here soon."
"you……"
Some people saw this girl leaving but hesitated to speak.
Zhang Qingqing turned around and turned his back to the emperor. His confident and indifferent back left an unpredictable impression on everyone.
Who is she?
This is the confusion among the civil and military officials of the current dynasty.
Zhang Qingqing walked outside the hall and said to the old man sitting on the steps in front of the hall: "Grandpa, let's go?"
The old man stood up with a smile and said, "Okay, let's go."
The old man and the young man left the hall step by step and out of everyone's sight.
The guards in front of the palace were already kneeling on the ground. This old man was none other than the abdicated Tian Khan.
Li Chengqian looked at his father's back and was speechless for a long time. (End of chapter)
