"Guests, I'm going to wash your feet soon. Is there anything else the guests need?"
Li Shimin was confused again by this question.
When he was in the palace, there were many people waiting around him, but they were all eunuchs and maids. Suddenly someone else was waiting on him, and he was really uncomfortable with it.
Li Shimin didn't say anything, just nodded.
The woman came over with a smile on her face and served him.
When the woman began to gently knead her feet, she felt so comfortable that Li Shimin temporarily forgot about himself. What are you going to do here?
At the same time, Li Ke was in another room, and he was also enjoying the services of others.
"Old Chen, how long until it starts?"
Chen Shou was standing behind Ji Ji. Hearing his question, he quickly bowed and replied, "If you count the time, the work should start in a few moments."
Li Ke nodded: "Okay, then go ahead and make arrangements."
Chen Shou responded, and then hurried out to make arrangements.
In just a moment, the sound of gongs and drums came from Qiuyue Pavilion.
Li Shimin, who was getting a foot massage, heard the sound outside and immediately sat up: "What's going on?"
The woman next to her spoke: "It should be that the wealthy businessmen from Qizhou have arrived at Qiuyue Pavilion, and His Highness the King of Shu is going to speak to them."
Li Shimin then remembered the conversation he had with Qi Yuanshou when he entered the city.
It seems that his son wants to discuss with these wealthy businessmen about repairing officialdom.
Immediately, Li Shimin waved away the woman who was doing the massage, and went out with the others.
When he arrived at the place where wealthy businessmen gathered, Li Shimin deliberately chose a shady position to watch.
"The King of Shu is here."
Someone shouted, and everyone looked towards the stage.
Li Ke, dressed in purple, slowly came on stage.
He first glanced at everyone, and then said: "Everyone, today the king of Japan, Li Ke, is hosting a banquet here. You are welcome to come from afar."
"See His Highness the King of Shu!"
The crowd chanted.
Li Shimin mingled among the crowd. When everyone kowtowed to Li Ke, he just made a casual gesture, but he was quite unhappy in his heart.
After all, he is the father, so why should he salute his son?
And Li Ke didn't notice Li Shimin here.
Seeing that many people came, Li Ke was also very happy. He smiled and said: "Everyone can come here today, which can be regarded as giving face to the king."
"Today's consumption in our store will be on my account. You can enjoy it to your heart's content."
Hearing this, many people present clapped their hands and applauded Li Ke.
Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, and looked at Fang Xuanling with a slight hesitation: "So, if we come to the brothel, it's his treat?"
Fang Xuanling looked embarrassed, not knowing whether to nod or shake his head.
"So be it."
After brewing for a long time, he could only answer like this.
Fortunately, everyone else was looking at Li Ke, and no one noticed what Li Shimin said.
Li Shimin couldn't help but frown, and his face became more sullen: "Okay, okay! I want to see what he wants to do!"
Little did Li Ke on the stage know that Li Shimin was standing under the stage and watching him.
Little did he know that father and son actually went to a brothel together.
He just saw that those wealthy businessmen seemed to be in a very happy mood, and then he returned to the topic.
"You must also know that today I invite you to Fengyue Pavilion. In addition to letting you enjoy it for a while, there is one more thing, which is the top priority of repairing official roads."
"You are all reputable people in Qizhou, and you also know the current situation in Qizhou!"
"The most recent renovation of official roads in Qizhou was also during the Zhengde period."
"It's been almost ten years now. You must have followed more official channels than me, and you know better what the current official channels look like."
"Is that still an official road? The road is full of gravel and weeds. Those who don't know better think it's a wild ditch! People can fall into the river halfway along the way. If it rains, the situation will be even worse."
After hearing this, everyone was also talking in low voices.
Only Li Shimin felt his face getting hot.
Since he ascended the throne, he has really not spent any time repairing Qizhou's official roads.
Although this matter is under the jurisdiction of the local government, what is the current situation? Why do you feel like you are being slapped in the face by your own son?
Fortunately, he still claims to be a rare wise king in the world, but now, he can't even cultivate an official line.
Fang Xuanling, on the other hand, was deep in thought. He didn't dare to look at Li Shimin and just continued to listen to what Li Ke had to say.
"So, the reason for calling everyone here this time is to solve the official problem!"
"Perhaps you are all curious, can't we also walk on the official road? Why bother to build the road so hard, but today! I will give you a good talk!"
Li Ke glanced at everyone, and then continued: "As the saying goes, if you want to get rich, build roads first."
"Even if there are countless wealthy families in Qizhou, when it comes to wealth, can they still compete with those big men in Guanzhong?"
"Actually, you know it in your heart!"
"The transportation in Guanzhong is well developed. No matter where you go from to Chang'an, it will not take more than three to five days at most. The goods in Chang'an come from all over the world."
"I would like to ask everyone, does Qizhou have such convenient roads?"
Everyone was stunned. As long as they thought about it for a moment, they would find that what Li Ke said was absolutely correct.
The transportation here is very inconvenient. Even from Licheng to the nearest county, it takes at least two days. Is Qizhou bigger than Guanzhong?
"The King of Shu is right. Sometimes we are fully prepared, but there will still be temporary transfers of goods, but often due to inconvenient roads, it is too late."
"That's true. Some things are urgent and we can only mobilize them from warehouses in various places. However, due to road problems, some costs have been increased."
Everyone was chatting here and there, but these words made Li Shimin next to him feel excited.
He didn't expect that Li Ke was really doing serious things.
Just when Li Shimin was curious, Li Ke waved his hand at the complaining people.
After everyone calmed down, he spoke: "I believe everyone knows where the problem lies. It is urgent to repair the official roads."
"In the past, I might have been undecided, but this time I found cement. With this thing, both the speed and quality of road repair can be improved."
"So this matter has also been put on the agenda by my king, but it is not a trivial matter. Judging from the current situation of the various government offices in Qizhou, there are also many difficult places, and I still need your help."
Everyone looked at each other, and then someone stood up carefully and asked, "I wonder what help His Majesty the King of Shu needs from me?"
