That morning, Tang Jian, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, wrote to the government: Households and land are the foundation of the country. It has been fourteen years since the seventh year of Wude, and the court has never conducted a population census or land clearing. This is not a long-term solution.
For the sake of long-term peace and stability of the country, I specially invited the saints to carry out the national population census and land clearing work.
There was an uproar in the court as soon as this statement came out, and everyone was talking about it. Some supported it, thinking that it should really be investigated, while some opposed it, thinking that it was a waste of people and money.
Li Shimin sat on a dragon throne and witnessed all this, and he knew what everyone was thinking.
Those who support the inventory may not necessarily be loyal, but may also want to take advantage of the opportunity to achieve their own little plans.
Those who oppose it do not necessarily have selfish motives, because these two tasks do require the mobilization of national resources, and it is not necessarily possible to find out the reasons.
"Quiet." Seeing that everyone was noisy, Ren Feng stepped forward and shouted loudly. When everyone stopped, he bowed and retreated to the corner.
Li Shimin did not express his position on the spot but asked: "What do Fang Qing think?"
Fang Xuanling came out and said, "Your Majesty, I think what Tang Shangshu said is true."
"Fourteen years is enough for a generation to grow up, but the number of registered residents reported by local government offices is the same as fourteen years ago. Isn't it weird?"
"Previously, the imperial court had no time to be distracted due to foreign invasions such as the Turks. Now that the barbarians have surrendered, it is time to conduct an inventory of the population and land."
Li Shimin nodded and asked Cheng Yaojin: "What does Cheng Qing think?"
Cheng Yaojin came out and said: "The barbarians are only temporarily subdued. They are like injured beasts hiding in the dark and licking their wounds. Once they recover their strength, they will definitely start fighting again."
"We, the Tang Dynasty, should also take this opportunity to take stock of our family assets, so that when the war breaks out, we can allocate provisions and troops accordingly without causing domestic chaos."
Li Shimin still did not express his position, and asked several people one after another, including Yu Wenshiji, Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, Qin Qiong, Li Ji and others.
Everyone's attitude was surprisingly unanimous and supportive.
These people were not only representatives of civil servants and military generals, but also representatives of the gentry, Guanlong and emerging dignitaries. Their statements directly affected the choices of most people in the court.
At this moment, everyone still doesn't understand that this matter was not suddenly suggested by Tang Jian. The big bosses have already discussed it in private, and now it is just a formality.
If you object, you are going against all the big guys. Although there are many strong-willed people, there is really no need to be strong-willed in this kind of matter.
So the matter was passed.
Li Shimin immediately ordered the Ministry of Household Affairs to take charge of the matter, and local officials must cooperate unconditionally to complete the population and land inventory by the end of the year.
…
Chen Jingke was currently discussing with Cheng Huailiang, Qin Huaidao and Yuchi Xunyu about the location of the new restaurant.
Cheng Huailiang looked at the sketch of Chang'an City and said: "The east and west cities are the most prosperous and crowded places in Chang'an, so the new restaurant was chosen here."
Yuchi Xunyu said directly: "Then open one in each of the two cities. We don't lack the money."
Qin Huaidao supported: "What the elder brother said is true. We are not short of money. We have also trained enough manpower in the past six months. We might as well open one in each of the two cities."
He married Yuchi Xunyu's biological sister, so he had to be called "eldest brother".
Cheng Huailiang obviously agreed with this plan, saying: "In this way, there will be three natural residences."
Chen Jingke is not opposed to the plan to open a restaurant in each of the east and west cities. With their current strength, let alone two branches, three or five are more than enough.
He was concerned about another thing: "What do you think the branch should be called?"
Qin Huaidao said doubtfully: "Of course it is also called Tiantianju. With this sign, the business of the new restaurant will be booming immediately."
Yuchi Xunyu and Cheng Hualiang both meant the same thing.
But Chen Jingke shook his head and said: "Tiantianju is no longer a restaurant, it is a gathering place for dignitaries, literati and poets... It has brought us benefits that cannot be exchanged for a hundred restaurants."
"Once we open a branch in the capital and attract diners, it will become an ordinary restaurant, and at most the food will be more delicious."
"This kind of loss is the most fatal to us. I would rather not use a semicolon than ruin the reputation we have finally built."
Yuchi Xunyu was still a little confused, but Cheng Huailiang and Qin Huaidao had completely understood.
"Oh, why did I forget this? I almost ruined something big."
"Yes, thanks to the real person here."
Chen Jingke didn't feel too proud. This was not something he thought of himself, but he had seen and heard about it in his previous life.
It is precisely because of the added cultural attributes that Tiantianju becomes unique.
Many restaurant chefs have learned how to cook and want to challenge the status of Tianju, but they have been defeated by this attribute.
There are many merchants in the east and west cities, and the main customers of restaurants here must be those merchants. Once the name Tiantianju is associated with merchants, no matter how much cultural added value it is, it will be gone.
By then, those competitors may be so happy that they will laugh out loud.
After some explanation, even Yuchi Xunyu understood this truth and gave up his plan to continue using the name Tiantianju.
After further discussion, everyone unanimously decided that the new restaurant would be called Taoyuan Restaurant.
"Tao Yuanming's Peach Blossom Spring depicts a carefree paradise. Our restaurant can also use delicious food to make everyone forget all their worries."
Once the name problem is solved, the rest will be easy to deal with. For them, site selection and renovation are just a matter of words.
Everyone was very happy to have accomplished another important event. If Chen Jingke hadn't stopped drinking, they would have had a few drinks on the spot to celebrate.
After talking about the serious business, they started chatting, and the topic inevitably got into the family affair.
Cheng Huailiang first complained that one of his concubines was pregnant, and Princess Qinghe and he were upset for several days and would not let him in.
Everyone had no sympathy for him at all and laughed at him.
The main reason is that this is not the first time that his concubine is pregnant and has given birth to a child. Princess Qinghe will only be pregnant for two days at most and the weather will not really be good.
Of course, the main reason why she was angry was that she had not been able to give birth to a son and a half.
I don't blame her, it's mainly because she is too young to have children. Even though she has been married for four years, she is only thirteen years old this year.
Cheng Huailiang's complaints were treated more like anecdotes.
Qin Huaidao's situation is similar. Yu Chiyue is only thirteen years old this year and it's too early to have a child. He talked more about his father:
"My lord, I had a blood transfusion a few days ago. This time I only received about half a bowl of blood. Master Sun said that as long as there are no accidents, I can last for a year or two without needing any more blood transfusions."
"My wife also sent me donkey-hide gelatin to replenish my body. Now my body has returned to normal, but I can no longer practice martial arts."
Chen Jingke also knew from the blood transfusion a few days ago that after half a year of treatment, Qin Qiong's ischemic symptoms have been controlled. As long as Qin Qiong's body does not suffer from trauma and blood loss, she will be able to persist for a long time.
As for not being able to practice martial arts, everyone was just a little regretful and didn't think it was a big problem. Compared with life, it was nothing.
Yuchi Xunyu's matter was a tricky one. He felt very uncomfortable being caught in the middle because of the bad relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The key problem still lay with his mother, and he couldn't even talk about it.
What's even more uncomfortable is that he is the eldest grandson and can't even separate the family and live separately, so he can only live with his grandfather and parents under the same roof.
Chen Jingke had nothing to do about this. It was difficult for an upright official to deal with household affairs.
Others have talked about their own affairs, so naturally they will not let him go.
Cheng Huailiang winked and said, "I heard that you are going to marry the second wife of Duke Ying's family? Is it true?"