Hearing the crisp sound of the jade ring on the table and looking at the prince's encouraging eyes, the head of the six families was surprised to find that he had no way to refuse.
Not to mention that they can benefit from these roads, even if they participate in them this time, the prestige they can gain for the family is irreplaceable.
A penny can stump a heroic man. Although a wealthy family may seem to be prosperous, their heritage is their heritage, and their money is their wealth. They cannot be confused with each other. Because of this, when a disaster occurs, they think first of all about making money, and secondly, after making money, to gain prestige for their family.
Now, the prince's proposal has perfectly solved these two problems.
Building roads can not only make money, but also bring prestige to the family, so why not do it?
As for the signing of the contract, they have decided that the prince is difficult to deal with. What's more, the prince's evil intentions may be buried in what happened this time.
But but...but but...
So what if you harbor evil intentions? Those who make moves will respond to them. Since the prince has made a move, as the heads of the aristocratic family, if they don't respond, wouldn't they be laughed at? When did a young boy dare to play tricks with me?
Facing the temptation thrown by the prince, several family heads, while wary, also felt a strong sense of dissatisfaction.
At least, they are confident that even if the prince has means to hide it, they can strike back.
After looking at each other and seeing each other's firm eyes, the head of the Lu family, Lu Ziqian, took the lead to come out and said with cupped hands: "Since His Highness the Crown Prince has brought up this matter and is confident about it, have you prepared the contract?" Li Xian nodded, opened the box on his desk, took out a stack of contracts, and handed it to Li Yun.
Li Yong expressionlessly distributed several contracts to the hands of the six family heads.
They had just been tricked by a contract. Almost as soon as they got the contract, several family heads began to scrutinize it word by word.
However, even after further deliberation, they quickly read the contract over.
What makes them extremely uncomfortable is that with their eyesight, they still don't see any problems.
Except for the different paths, the remaining terms are almost the same.
After changing each other and looking at it again, they still found nothing wrong.
Seeing the surprised and uncertain looks of several people, Li Xian couldn't help but smile and said: "You guys are overly worried. In the last contract, Gu had to take advantage of the loopholes for the sake of the victims of the disaster. This time, Gu's sincerity can be regarded as Compensation for you all. To be honest, it makes me very sad for you to be so wary!"
I would rather treat you as a poisonous snake and be wary of it!
After roaring in his heart, Lu Ziqian couldn't help but hold up his hands and said: "Your Highness, this matter is of great importance. Even I can't agree directly. How about this, I will take the contract back for now and listen to the family first. opinion, and then decide whether to sign. As for His Highness’s eagerness to rescue the disaster, I understand. How about this, I will give His Highness an answer tomorrow, how about tomorrow?”
Take it back to study?
Li Xian agreed without hesitation: "Of course you can. For such a big matter, I have to give you some time to think about it."
I thought that the prince would impatiently urge them to sign the contract, but who knows, instead of urging them, he gave them time to think about it.
this....
For a moment, several family heads even thought that the prince had really made it up to them this time.
However, with great vigilance, Lu Ziqian still stood up and said with his hands in hand: "In that case, I will trouble Your Highness to wait. I and others will go back with the contract first."
Seeing what Lu Ziqian said, Li Xian quickly stood up and said, "Gentlemen, why are you so anxious? I have already prepared a banquet for you at the Chongjiao Hall. It's not too late to go back after lunch."
Wang Qiong also stood up and saluted: "I and others accept the kindness of His Highness the Crown Prince. However, the disaster relief matter cannot be delayed. The earlier I and others make a decision, the better to mobilize the strength of the family and start the disaster relief work."
Wang Qiong said so, and Li Xian could only get up and see him off.
He didn't stop until he sent the old men to Mingde Gate. Watching the old men's carriages slowly leaving, Li Xian couldn't help but reveal a cruel smile.
Sometimes, the benefits are not so easy to come by. The honey you eat in your mouth may not be sweet after digestion. Bait on a hook is not a real lure. The bait thrown into the water by fishing boats is the most dangerous.
I took a walk back to Mingde Hall and walked into the hall door, only to find that someone was already sitting on the main seat.
It's Li Zhi.
He just listened to Li Xian's plan this time and let it go. He didn't even ask the prince what his back-up plan was.
To be honest, it doesn't feel like trust, but more like an old father encouraging a newly sensible child to touch a hot water bottle.
After saluting, Li Xian let out a long sigh of relief as he sat aside.
Li Zhi was looking through the contract. He had the foundation of the previous contract. Although he couldn't find the loopholes in the contract, he still had some faith in the prince.
Yang Yang held the contract in his hand, and Li Zhi sighed: "Although I believe you in this matter, I still don't think highly of you. Prince, it is not true that the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes can occupy the Central Plains for many years and go through the changes of dynasties without changing their status. It's a fluke. Even these contemporary family heads, I have never seen clearly."
"It's okay for you to plan for five surnames and seven hopes. I support it, but you must remember one thing from beginning to end."
Seeing the emperor say this, Li Xian quickly stood up and bowed.
"Don't underestimate your opponent at any time. Even if you become the emperor in the future, don't take anyone lightly. A lion must fight a rabbit with all his strength, not to mention that now, you are simply a rabbit challenging a lion. "
Maintaining a serious expression, Li Xian said firmly: "Don't worry, Aye, I understand."
"Um."
After responding, Li Zhi stood up and prepared to return to the palace.
At present, there is such a disaster in Guanneidao. As an emperor, even if he is just pretending, he needs to pretend to be busy. If he hadn't discovered that the prince had plotted against the five surnames and six families, he would not have even left the palace. Come.
As for what the prince did this time...
Even if you lose, it's not a bad thing.
If you want to cultivate a qualified prince in a short period of time, it would be inappropriate if everything goes smoothly. At this moment, he even hoped that Wu Xing could teach the prince a lesson, and it wouldn't hurt to be more profound.
After getting up and sending the emperor out of the Phoenix Gate, Li Xian did not seize the last moment to practice martial arts, nor did he return to Li Zhengdian. After ordering the kitchen to deliver the prepared banquet to the unlucky scholars in Chongwen Hall, he was in Li Xian's Under the escort, he left the East Palace in disguise, and even left Chang'an directly.
It is not unreasonable to say that Zhang Daan and others are unlucky.
Li Xian discovered that things in history often have strong stubbornness.
Although his time travel especially alleviated Li Zhi's illness and showed his excellence, the "North Gate Bachelor" incident still occurred.
However, this time, the Queen of Heaven used the Prince's annotations on "Book of the Later Han" and "Book of Han" as a guide, intending to summon literati to compile a large number of books.
As for the books to be compiled, there are quite a lot: "Xuanlan", "Ancient and Modern Neifan", "Qinggong Minutes", "Shaoyang Zhengfan", "Weicheng Dianxun", "Zishu Yaolu", " "New Commandments of Fenglou", "Biography of Filial Sons", "Biographies of Lienv", "Neifan Synopsis", "Yue Shu Yaolu", "New Commandments of Bai Liao", "Zhaoren's Own Industry" and "Chen Gui".
Moreover, after these books, there is an ellipsis...
As for the proposal to allow this group of scholars to participate in the court report, it was naturally rejected.
Nowadays, Li Zhi is not bedridden. Without a ruling queen, there is no power. In the original history, it can be said that she was a phoenix pretending to be a dragon, so she was able to divide the power of the prime minister. However, now that the saint is in the court and the prince is extremely outstanding, it is not appropriate to let the queen get involved in the matter.
As a result, the "Beimen Bachelor" completely became a wisp of smoke in history.
However, this was a pain for Zhang Daan and others. Although the Queen's idea of dividing the power of the prime minister failed, the shameful knife always had to be sheathed, so the compilation of these books fell on Zhang Daan and others.
For a moment, those of them trapped in Chongwen Hall didn't know whether they should cry or laugh.
Li Xian had no interest in compiling books. No matter how many books he compiled, in the end, he, the prince, was destined to take the lion's share of the credit.
And disaster relief is the most important thing right now.
It is obviously a foolish dream to rely solely on the manpower recruited by the East Palace to do things. As a result, Li Xian went to the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs to teach the Prince. Although it was written in writing that "officials from the two ministries were hired", neither Zhang Lanyue nor the Minister of Industry knew what was going on.
Therefore, without much guidance from the prince, they dispatched officials from their headquarters, contacted local officials, and began to explore the route and other things.
Although the road built this time should be as straight as possible, it is obviously unrealistic to be completely straight.
Although the first section of the route from Chang'an to Luoyang can be determined, it is better to plan the subsequent route first and then construct it.
As for land acquisition...
At this time, no one dared to talk nonsense to the court. If they passed someone's house on the route set by the officials of the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Works only needed to notify the county magistrate or Li Zheng, and the people there would vacate the house the next day. There was no bargaining. In Li Xian's opinion, perhaps the biggest problem was that the compensation from the Ministry of Works was a bit too little.
As a result, he had to add another order: all the families whose houses had been expropriated did not have to leave immediately. When the road was about to be built nearby, craftsmen would naturally build new houses for them. The food compensation previously promised by the Ministry of Industry will be distributed as usual.
In Li Xian's opinion, this is a most reasonable arrangement.
However, who knew that with this order, people would immediately receive rave reviews. In particular, families whose houses were expropriated, even if they were not recorded as agricultural workers by the Ministry of Industry, began to clear the land around them, hoping to save some effort for the court in the construction process.
As for the drought... who has time to comment? Everyone is chatting together now, talking about the upcoming road construction project. Although the imperial edict has been circulated, no one knows exactly how it will be arranged.
It's different now. Seeing with their own eyes the prince's benevolence when he was building houses for the people, the people also had a clear idea of what he was doing.
Walking outside Chang'an City and hearing the people talking with his own ears, Li Xian suddenly felt a little lucky.
Regarding the issue of requisitioning residential buildings, I just showed kindness once out of habit. Who knows, it can actually have the effect of appeasing people's hearts.
but....
Now that the people are at peace, construction in Chang'an has to start anyway.
Nowadays, what is being distributed is only relief food for the old, weak, women and children. The people around Chang'an are more or less affluent, and some families still have a surplus of food. As for the poor, they are probably young and strong, either digging wild vegetables and eating tree bark, or living with the women and children at home, drinking gruel for the time being.
If the project doesn't officially start, these young people will have no food to eat.
Sighing and looking up at the bright sun in the sky, Li Xian had no choice but to stand in the shade.
A young man with thin skin and tender flesh walked over. Among the dark-skinned people, he was quite conspicuous. Especially the guards such as Li Yun seemed to be difficult to mess with.
The few people who were enjoying the shade under the tree, although they were a little far apart, still involuntarily moved to the side and started talking. I don't know whether this young man belongs to a wealthy businessman or an official.
Talking is a challenge, especially for social fears.
However, Li Xian believed that he was still a bit of a social nerd. He took a look at the linen clothes on his body and waved his hands to signal a few guards to stay where they were. He just took Li Yong with him and took the initiative to walk in the direction of a few common people. passed.
Before anyone could get closer, he casually cupped his hands and said, "Guys, my father is a traveling businessman, and I came to Chang'an with my father to see the world. I heard that His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, did not directly provide disaster relief, but wanted to build roads. , distribute food to the young and strong, is there such a thing?"
Although Li Xian's courtesy was very casual, in the eyes of several farmers, it was quite normal.
As for the son of a businessman... Even if he is a wealthy businessman, there is nothing special about someone who has insulted his ancestors.
Feeling a little relieved, the oldest old man returned the gift casually and said: "Young Master is right, it is true. However, why does this old man feel that there is a thorn in your words? What do you mean by unexpectedly?"
Li Xian was stunned for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "It stands to reason that when the people suffer from disasters, the court should provide relief. Why is it that the prince only provides relief to the old, weak, women and children, but not the young? As for road construction, it is proper to pay for road construction. , it’s too much to associate it with disaster relief.”
This is something Li Xian has always been worried about. Although there is some deep meaning in his actions, if the people don't understand, it will be a catastrophe.
