Chen Jingke secretly gave full marks to his performance.
If he had directly questioned Gan Yuanfeng just now, it would not have aroused the recognition of many people, but would have made everyone think that he was using power to threaten people.
First use a poem to calm everyone, and then say it again, the effect will be completely different.
Again, everyone is a scholar, and we will naturally gravitate towards whoever has a better pen. Just like a student who studies well, even if he is usually very low-key, no one will ignore his existence.
After defeating Gan Yuanfeng and resolving the crisis, he was thinking about how to stop.
Don't be too aggressive when doing business with the door open, otherwise even if you are reasonable, you will arouse some people's resentment. If you just accept it, you can gain a good reputation for being magnanimous.
At this moment, he saw a familiar figure walking down the stairs, and he couldn't help but think: It can't be such a coincidence, right?
This person is Ren Feng, the eunuch beside Li Shimin.
I saw him coming all the way to Chen Jingke, bowing and saying: "Master Chen, my husband has invited me."
…
After finishing his duties today, Li Shimin called Changsun Wuji, Yu Wenshiji, and Ma Zhou to go out for a leisurely tour. The Zixiao Temple next door was the best choice.
Since we came here and caught up with the meal, we naturally wanted to have a meal at Tiantianju - they used the private box reserved by Chen Jingke.
Listening to the noise coming from all around, Changsun Wuji smiled and said: "Master Chen..."
Li Shimin interrupted: "A child doesn't deserve to be a real person, just call him by his name."
As important ministers in the court, these people knew very well how much the emperor and empress valued Chen Jingke, and they even knew that Princess Shang Jinyang was a sure thing.
Therefore, when the emperor spoke in an elder's tone, they didn't find it surprising.
Changsun Wuji smiled and joked: "Yes, in the future he will call me uncle, so I will call him Jing Ke."
"I can't help but admire his talent. Other restaurants are full of fireworks. But he turned Tiantianju into an elegant place, which is already a scene in Chang'an."
Yu Wenshi stroked his beard and said, "Yes, to be honest with you, I often come here to dine. Not for the food, but just to listen to the young scholars' views on the world."
Ma Zhou, who had a low official position and junior qualifications, was the most silent, but he also said: "Famous teachers make great disciples."
Everyone talked about a lot of topics, ranging from Chen Jingke, who lived in the natural world, to Sun Simiao, the Zixiao Temple, and the reform of Taoism.
It didn't take long for the topic to turn to world affairs, and naturally the conversation came to population and taxation.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Li Shimin said: "Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, it seems that the imperial court has only conducted a population census once in the seventh year of Wude, right?"
Yuwen Shiji paused for a moment, then calmly picked up the teacup and drank.
Changsun Wuji did not answer directly, but glanced at Ma Zhou.
Ma Zhou said very interestingly: "Yes, although every state and county reports the number of registered residents, it only reports a rough number, which is not completely accurate."
Changsun Wuji then followed up and said: "This is not possible. Population is related to the rise and fall of a country, and the court must have accurate figures. I think the population should be re-examined."
Li Shimin did not express his position directly, but asked Yu Wenqing, "What do Yu Wenqing think?"
Yu Wenshiji said slowly: "It has been fourteen years since the seventh year of Wude, which is enough for a generation to grow up. It is time to conduct another investigation."
"In addition, the imperial court has used troops to defeat the Turks, Tuyuhun and other barbarians one after another. There is no foreign invasion for the time being, and it can also devote its energy to conducting a population census. I think Qi Guogong's method is feasible."
It is not strange for the imperial court to conduct a population census. It would be strange if an emperor did not conduct a census. Li Shimin only did this matter eleven years after he ascended the throne, which is relatively late.
Moreover, the census will have little impact on top dignitaries like them. Who dares to check them?
In other words, they have a huge number of chapters, which is an unspoken rule that everyone knows very well.
The reason why the Guanlong military nobles are powerful is because they have a large number of troops and can raise an army at any time.
In addition, Li Shimin still brought up this matter during dinner, so he didn't take it to heart.
In fact, Li Shimin had no intention of finalizing the census just like this. The four people at the table alone couldn't do it.
The reason why I mentioned it at this time is just to spread the news so that the people below can mentally prepare.
Therefore, he did not keep talking about this topic. After expressing his attitude of wanting to conduct a census, he changed the topic.
Just when they were enjoying their chat, there was noise outside.
Li Shimin said: "Ren Feng, are you going to see what's going on?"
"Here." Ren Feng, who was guarding the door, went to take a look at the stairs and came back: "Returning to Master Lang, it's Master Chen who is here and greeting the people downstairs."
"Oh." Li Shimin said with a smile: "This guy is really careless. He came just as I said. Go and call him."
Ren Feng hesitated and said, "It seems that Master Chen has a guest." After saying that, he quickly lowered his head.
Li Shimin was not unhappy, but said: "Forget it, don't disturb him, let him eat by himself."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard that something was wrong downstairs. Without anyone's instructions, Ren Feng took the initiative and said, "I'm going to take a look."
Then he saw the whole process of the confrontation between Chen Jingke and Gan Yuanfeng, and also heard the poem.
After listening to the complete poem, he secretly complained in his heart, this little real man was really speaking freely. But he did not dare to hide it, so he quickly returned to the box and told Li Shimin everything.
After hearing that poem, Li Shimin's face suddenly darkened.
A smile appeared on the corner of Yu Wenshiji's mouth and disappeared quickly, but he became more curious about Chen Jingke in his heart. Changsun Wuji looked speechless, while Ma Zhou lowered his head and could not see any expression.
"Go and call him over to me."
"Here." Ren Feng didn't dare to delay, turned around and walked downstairs.
Then there was the opening scene.
…
Looking at Ren Feng, Chen Jingke was as big as the other. Not because of anything else, but because he brought his sister to dinner.
Although he didn't have any bad thoughts, it was not a good thing after all for his father-in-law to see his son-in-law taking a girl to a restaurant for dinner.
Just when he was worried, Ren Feng suddenly said: "Master, Mr. Lang is traveling incognito and it is not convenient to see outsiders."
Chen Jingke slapped his forehead and was confused. It would be fine if he didn't take anyone with him.
So she apologized to Zhang Ping and said, "Ms. Zhang, I'm really sorry. I have to go see a guest and it's not convenient for you to entertain you. Why don't you go back to Guanli first and I'll have the dishes sent back?"
Zhang Ping glanced at Ren Feng and said, "Okay, then I'll go back to Guanzhong first."
After saying that, he nodded to Ren Feng again, turned around and left.
Chen Jingke called the waiter over, ordered a few dishes and asked them to send them back, and then followed Ren Feng upstairs.
Before going upstairs, he glanced around and saw no sign of Gan Yuanfeng and others. They probably left while he was talking.
He didn't take it to heart, turned around and walked upstairs.
Halfway through, he whispered to Ren Feng: "Thank you for the reminder just now."
Ren Feng said calmly: "I'm sorry, you're too polite. I only want to protect Master Lang's safety, and I will report this matter to Master Master truthfully."
Chen Jingke knew what he meant and said, "I understand, just report it truthfully."
As long as he and the girl were not seen coming to dinner, it didn't matter if Li Shimin found out afterwards. It was as simple as taking care of the guests as ordered by the master.
While talking, he came to the door of the box. After reporting, Chen Jingke opened the door and walked in.