"Ding-deng-deng..."
A fast horse galloped down the official road, followed by a sky full of yellow sand.
"Hurry up for 800 miles, give way to those who are idle, and you will be awarded a gold medal. Those who stand in the way will die!"
The scout roared loudly, fearing that some refugees along the way would go crazy with hunger and miss the stallion horse under his crotch.
Just a few days ago, he found that the victims in many places had even eaten the grass roots, and the people began to trade with each other. Finally, they gathered on the official road and directly attacked and robbed the passing caravans.
There were also a large number of people in those caravans. Although the goods were valuable, they were worthless in the eyes of this group of refugees. What they were worried about was the rations of these caravans and the horses used to pull the goods.
Each caravan has its own guards, and the guards who follow the long-distance trade are all very skilled, and their kung fu is also top-notch. However, in front of the dense crowd of irrational refugees, the tigers could not stand up to the wolves, and the caravan was swallowed up in the blink of an eye. . . ,
Chang'an City,
Daxing Hall.
Li Shimin sat on the dragon chair, looking at Cheng Yaojin's eight hundred miles of urgent documents sent back from Youzhou. He was moody and stared at the small black bag in front of him without saying a word for a long time.
After a cup of tea, Li Shimin seemed to have made a decision. He handed the letter to the eunuch beside him and asked him to convey the content of the letter, and then handed it over to his humerus minister for discussion.
An old eunuch with no beard and fair appearance lowered his head to receive the letter. After quickly scanning one side of the content, he read out the entire content in a harsh tone.
"My lords, the following is the latest news from Youzhou, the official Cheng Zhijie of the Su Kingdom. There are four main things!"
"The first thing is: the Turks invaded the entire Tanzhou, Liaoxi was besieged, Yanzhou surrendered to the enemy, and the general manager Wei Xiaojie lost contact! The Turkic cavalry may go south to Youzhou or east to Yuyang County."
"The second thing is: Yang Ming, the eldest son of the Yang family in Hongnong, persuaded Yiyuwei Chariot General Feng Li to lead his troops to surrender and help pacify the Youzhou rebels. Feng Li is being escorted back to Beijing!"
"The third thing is: Yang Ming, the eldest son of the Yang family in Hongnong, built a series of reform and inventions such as the Quyuan plow, the flowing water cart, the ox harness, the ox nose drilling method, and the refining of refined salt, which enhanced the national power of the Tang Dynasty."
"The fourth thing is: Yang Ming, the eldest son of the Yang family in Hongnong, speculated that the Turks still planned to continue to invade the Tang Dynasty on a large scale. His brother Sun Simiao came to Beijing to meet the saint and analyze the reasons in detail for the saint..."
Before the eunuch had finished speaking, the court was abuzz!
"Fat Cheng Cheng has never reported in person since he became the leader. We just arrived in Youzhou this time, and there are so many things going on, and every one of them is a big event!"
"Who is this Hongnong Yang family Yang Ming?! Why are three of Su Guogong's four major events related to him?"
"Is the Sun Simiao mentioned in the fourth incident the same as Miracle Doctor Sun?! Could it be that he still has the same name?"
"I think it's possible that he has the same name. Think about it, as the eldest son of a noble family, how old his brother can be!"
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, if that small black bag was also sent by Duke Su Guo, and what is in it?!"
Shangshu's right servant shot Feng Deyi, holding the jade tablet in his arms, and stepped forward curiously to ask.
Generally speaking, only the heads of enemy generals and valuables from other countries sent from the front line can be put on the dragon table, or the captured king of a country can be put on the hall.
But what is a little black bag?
Everyone's eyes were immediately attracted by Feng Deyi's words. They raised their heads cautiously and curiously glanced at the small black bag on the dragon throne.
Most people usually dare to criticize Li Shimin directly and reprimand him for all the bad things he did after he ascended the throne. However, there are very few people who dare to look directly at the dragon throne in the court. This is Confucianism at work, and they have committed the grave crime of not looking at the emperor!
The reason why Feng Deyi was able to prosper in the court was that he had unique qualities. As a veteran of two dynasties, I just caught from Li Shimin's subtle expression that the fourth thing is definitely not simple.
Otherwise, the war situation in Tanzhou alone would not have made Li Shimin depressed. Feng Li's surrender could be said to be a major event in stabilizing the military power of the Tang Dynasty! Even if ten Tanzhous are lost, they cannot be replaced.
For the current plan, he can only take the initiative to help Li Shimin stabilize the court, let the subjects below see a rising Tang Dynasty, and increase Li Shimin's control over the court.
So the topic was directed to the little black bag on the dragon table.
How many officials who are qualified to participate in the morning court are not human beings!
They were a little confused that Feng Deyi did not mention Feng Li's matter, but was instead interested in the little black bag, but they still selectively agreed. After all, it’s easy to rely on a big tree to enjoy the shade, and Feng Deyi is also a towering tree!
"Look, there is really a little black bag on the emperor's dragon table!"
"Is this the improved invention named Yang Ming?!"
"No way, the salt block is solid, and the little black bag looks like powder!"
Fang Xuanling despised this group of people with no virtue and talent, and felt ashamed to be associated with them. She just stood aside and watched silently, watching how the veteran minister Feng Deyi cooperated with Li Shimin's performance.
At this time, Li Shimin was sitting on the dragon throne, still looking like he was dying, as if going to court was just for sex and clocking in to work, and he was not interested in anything else.
In fact, Li Shimin put on such a stinky face because he was secretly urging Feng Deyi and other ministers to quickly resolve the messy things they had done in the morning. He still had important things to do.
Just when the eunuch read out the imperial edict, Li Shimin had already deduced it countless times in his mind. It is true that King Luo Yi of Yan County may rebel, and there are great security risks in the Chang'an area!
Li Shimin opened the small black bag and poured out a large handful of tiny white particles. Amid everyone's exclamations, he picked up a small amount and put it in his mouth to taste carefully.
"Um!"
Li Shimin suddenly opened his eyes, a little incredible!
This refined salt melts in your mouth. It tastes salty and bitter. It feels much better than lump salt. It tastes slightly sweet when you stir it with your tongue.
"Your Majesty, you can't! You can't risk yourself!"
"Your Majesty, let me try it for Your Majesty first!"
"Your Majesty, the country and the country are our top priority, and you can't do anything wrong!"
Li Shimin took a sip of refined salt, and all the ministers fell to their knees. Everyone was sweating what Li Shimin had done! If this Yang Ming is not well-intentioned, then wouldn't they have to change the emperor again? Then can their current position be stable? !
Du Ruhui looked at Fang Xuanling and saw that he was still motionless, so he put his hands into his sleeves and began to close his eyes and rest. Since the emperor is willing to act, let him do it by himself. Anyway, he is not willing to get involved without telling the cause of the matter.
Li Shimin looked at the refined salt in front of him proudly, then forgot about the large-scale Turkic invasion, and smiled happily:
"Hahaha! My dear friends, please don't worry. Duke Su Guo has tried this refined salt beforehand, so I let people put it on the dragon table! But I never thought that Duke Su, a blessed general, could find for me even if he led troops to fight. It’s a rare talent like this that comes only once in a century.”
Immediately afterwards, Li Shimin made another move that shocked everyone. Even core figures such as Feng Deyi, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Yuchi Gong stood up and opposed it.
"Come here, prepare a decree! Make Yang Ming, the eldest son of the Yang family of Hongnong, who can refine salt for the Tang Dynasty, the founding father of Dai County, with a household of 300 households, and a fifth-grade official position!"
It’s fried again!
It is estimated that when Li Yuan heard about this, he had to rush from Tai Chi Palace with his pants up to slap Li Er in the face!
Are you really crazy? You can be knighted just because you made a lot of refined salt? !
"Your Majesty, ennoblement is a serious matter. Yang has made great achievements in refining refined salt, but he still failed to achieve the level of ennoblement. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"
Fang Xuanling was the first to kneel down and worship.
"Your Majesty, the ministers also agree with Zhongshu Ling!"
As an admonishing doctor, Wei Zheng, although it was exciting for his nephew to be knighted, he still chose to stand out to support Fang Xuanling in the face of major issues of right and wrong!
"Your Majesty, the old minister seconded the proposal and does not agree with the knighthood!"
Feng Deyi was also confused. What kind of operation was Li Shimin doing? If he had known that he would have to declare illness and rest at home this morning, this young king has added drama to himself. I can't keep up with the rhythm!
"Wei Chen seconded the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
The officials who had just stood up soon followed suit and knelt down as a habit!
Li Shimin raised his face and looked at Fang Moudu Duan who was kneeling below, feeling proud. I just want to use Yang Ming's hand to let you two old foxes come out to work. No one can stay out of this mess!
Instructed by Li Shimin's eyes, the eunuch raised his fly whisk and shouted:
"Quiet! An Neng is so arrogant in the court!"
The ministers were like meatballs in boiling water, popping up one after another. After adjusting their official uniforms, they stood still like logs.
"Tokugawa, take these refined salts and let your dear friends have a taste and let them evaluate whether this boy named Yang is worthy of being knighted!"
The eunuch next to Li Shimin is called Tokchuan, and his ancestral home is also Hebei Province. Early in the morning, when he heard Li Shimin telling Guanyin Maid that Yang Ming traveled thousands of miles and went through many hardships to trade grain with Khitan and transport it to his hometown for disaster relief, he had a great impression of this young man.
If Li Shimin could confer a title on Yang Ming, he would not object. A person who can wholeheartedly benefit the people of the Tang Dynasty is better than most rotten scholars in the court who don't understand anything.
"No! This slave obeys your order!"
Tokugawa carefully picked up the chopping board and held it at chest level with his hands, fearing that a strong wind would blow away the salt.
He held his head high and presented the dishes one by one to the key figures in the court for tasting, as if he didn't recognize his relatives. He looked arrogant, as if he refined the salt himself, which amused Li Shimin who was sitting on the throne.
"Well! Your Majesty, the taste of this refined salt can indeed increase appetite and add flavor to our daily diet, but this cannot be the reason for Yang Ming to be named the Male of Founding County!"
After Fang Xuanling and others tried it, they all praised Yang Ming's refined salt, which made the officials who failed to get the refined salt drool with greed. However, they still agreed that Yang Ming's contribution was not enough for a knighthood!
Li Shimin secretly read all the secret letters placed between his legs. He was shocked and quickly changed his words:
"My dear friends, what you said makes sense. This son of Yang Ming cannot be named the son of Kaiguo County. At the very least, he must be named the son of Kaiguo County of Dai County, with a settlement of 500 households, and be awarded the official position of the fifth rank."
After Du Ruhui heard this, he collapsed immediately. Just because I don't want to speak doesn't mean that I don't dare to speak. You Li Er, you haven't woken up yet this morning, right? !
Cheng Yaojin was a good-natured man who loved great achievements, but he was not serious in his conversations and often exaggerated. Therefore, after Li Shimin received his eight-hundred-mile urgent letter, he only chose to read the first half of the confidential letter.
But after he tasted the refined salt and read the entire secret letter, he almost jumped up from the throne.
Not only could Yang Ming refine refined salt at a low cost, benefiting the people of the Tang Dynasty, but he could also use the modified agricultural tools to increase output by 20% while reducing the number of farmers by half. . .
