Chapter 275 Mid-Autumn Festival Appreciation of the Moon
"My son, please see your father!" Li Chengqian bowed.
Li Shimin smiled and said: "Gao Ming is here, sit down!"
"Thank you, Father!"
Li Shimin is usually very serious with Li Chengqian. But he is very satisfied with Li Chengqian's recent performance, so he is very kind and cheerful.
"During this period, all the teachers in the East Palace praised you in front of me. I have heard about all the things you did. It's very good!" Li Shimin said.
The corners of Li Chengqian's eyes were a little moist. This was the first time Li Shimin praised him.
Li Chengqian calmed down and said, "This is what a son-in-law should do."
When Li Shimin saw Li Chengqian's expression, he not only wondered if he had been too harsh on Li Chengqian before.
Although he thought so, Li Shimin did not show it on his face and asked calmly: "Gao Ming came to see my father, what's the matter?"
"Father, the official roads connecting Chang'an to various places have been in disrepair for a long time. I want to repair these official roads," Li Chengqian said.
Although it was Lin Xuanti's idea, Li Chengqian did not tell Li Shimin, but said it was his own idea.
Li Shimin thought for a while and said: "The past two years have been good, but we can recruit civilians to repair it."
The matter of road construction was also mentioned in the past two years, but at that time there were constant natural disasters and the national treasury was empty, so there was really no money to repair it.
Although there have been some natural disasters in various places in the past two years, the impact has not been significant. Instead, civilians can be recruited to build roads.
Once the road is built, it will not only benefit the people. It will also speed up the dispatch of troops and food.
Li Chengqian shook his head and said: "Father, I do not plan to recruit civilian husbands, but want to hire them."
"Hire?" Li Shimin frowned.
In his opinion, it is very normal for people to perform corvee service, so why do they still need to hire them?
Li Chengqian said quickly: "Father, the people are poor. Employment can increase the people's income and improve their lives."
Li Shimin's face softened a little and he said: "I am very pleased that you can be considerate of the people, but do you know how much it will cost to hire people to build roads?"
He originally thought that Li Chengqian wanted him to agree to cultivate officialdom.
But now it seems that Li Chengqian wants to ask him for money.
As an emperor, Li Shimin had to consider the long term.
Li Chengqian only set his sights on Chang'an, but he couldn't.
Li Shimin planned to slowly repair the official system of the entire Tang Dynasty.
He could pay to hire people to repair the official roads around Chang'an.
But what about other places?
Chang'an employs people, and building other official roads will definitely cause resentment among the people if they recruit civilians.
Li Chengqian nodded and said: "Father, I know this. But I have a way to spend more money to repair the road on the basis of recruiting civilians."
He had asked someone to calculate it, and it would probably cost tens of thousands of guan if he recruited civilian men to repair the official road from Chang'an to Luoyang.
And what Lin Xuan told him was 50,000 yuan, not much more.
That's why he agreed. If the difference was too big, he wouldn't come at all.
Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian in surprise and asked, "What can I do?"
Li Chengqian said: "The Marquis of Jingyang County built a cement road. Erchen went to see it and found it very useful. Erchen went to the Marquis of Jingyang County to ask about it. In the case of hiring people, the official road from Chang'an to Luoyang only needs
It can be repaired with fifty thousand guan."
Li Shimin did not doubt Li Chengqian's words. Lin Xuan had told him before that it was very cheap to build city walls with cement.
However, Li Shimin had been hesitant because it had to be completely demolished, but he did not think about building roads with cement.
Li Shimin thought for a while and said: "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I am going to invite all the ministers to enjoy the moon together. You should go back and prepare first. As for the road construction, I will think about it carefully and we will talk about it after the Mid-Autumn Festival!"
"Yes! My son, please retire!"
…
In the evening, there was a trace of setting sun on the horizon.
Lin Xuan said goodbye to his parents, took a cart of hastily made mooncakes, and set off for the palace.
The carriages and horses at the gate of the palace were flowing like water, making it very lively.
After Lin Xuan arrived, he had several large boxes of moon cakes carried off the car and handed them to Li Junxian.
"I just came here to admire the moon today, why did you bring so many things?" Cheng Yaojin arrived and saw Lin Xuan directing people to move things there, so he asked curiously.
Lin Xuan bowed and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty asked me to send you some moon cakes to eat when you watch the moon at night."
Cheng Yaojin laughed and said, "Your mooncakes are really good. You can give me some more later."
"As long as Uncle Cheng likes it," Lin Xuan said with a smile.
Lin Xuan greeted Cheng Chumo and chatted with Cheng Yaojin.
Not long after, Qin Qiong and others arrived.
Lin Xuan, Cheng Chumo and others gathered together, and Cheng Yaojin and others gathered together, waiting for the palace door to open.
After about a stick of incense, the palace door opened wide and everyone filed in.
Because of the moon-viewing reasons, the banquet was held again in a very large square.
Lin Xuan and the others came to the square, and the eunuch waiting beside them led them to sit down.
Because Li Shimin hadn't arrived yet, everyone sat down and chatted with familiar people around them.
This time, unlike before, I didn’t know anyone around me.
"I've met Brother Xiao." Lin Xuan smiled and said hello.
Xiao Rui returned the greeting and said with a smile: "Zi Chu is here and I have someone to talk to."
Xiao Rui is not famous, but when it comes to his father, many people know about him.
Xiao Rui is the eldest son of Xiao Yu, one of the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion.
Xiao Yu was a former minister of the Sui Dynasty. During the Wude period, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was granted the title of Guanglu Doctor, and was granted the title of Duke of the Song Dynasty.
After Li Shimin came to the throne, he served as prime minister six times and was dismissed six times. In the end, he was demoted from Chang'an.
It's just that Xiao Yu has resigned as prime minister for the third time now.
Xiao Rui is married to Princess Xiangcheng. Due to this relationship, the two of them have met several times before, but they are not familiar with each other.
But having someone you know to talk to can help pass the time.
"Your Majesty, the Queen has arrived!"
Suddenly, a loud shout came.
Everyone hurriedly silenced and stood up to salute: "Welcome Your Majesty, the Queen!"
Li Shimin and Empress Changsun walked to the high platform in the middle and sat down.
"No gift!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Shimin smiled heartily and said: "Today I am admiring the moon with all the ministers. It is not a formality. Someone brings me mooncakes!"
A group of palace maids, each holding a plate of moon cakes, came over.
Cheng Yaojin and the others had known about it for a long time and didn't find it strange.
Others who didn't know were a little strange when they saw the mooncakes just delivered.
It’s just a plate of pastries, why are they being served now?
Li Shimin smiled and said: "This moon cake, also called reunion cake, symbolizes reunion. I share it with you!"
"Today is the day of the full moon, and the reunion cake has a beautiful meaning. Thank you, Your Majesty!" Fang Xuanling said with a smile.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" everyone shouted in unison.
"Haha!" Li Shimin had no intention of explaining at all.
Lin Xuan curled his lips, it was so shameless, it was obviously him who said it.
Everyone exchanged cups and cups with great interest.
The bright moon in the sky broke away from the cover of clouds and mist, and shed its bright moonlight on the earth.
"Your Majesty, this year's moon is the largest in recent years. It heralds the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty!" a minister said loudly.
Lin Xuan cursed secretly, what a flatterer.
The prosperity of the Tang Dynasty has nothing to do with the moon.
Of course Li Shimin knew that this person was flattering him, but he was still very happy and even praised him a few times.
Many people woke up and expressed their praises one after another.
This ability to tell lies with open eyes really impressed Lin Xuan.
"Haha, the moonlight is beautiful today. You can compose a poem using the moon as a poem. Whoever causes the loudest cheers will be rewarded heavily by me!" Li Shimin laughed.