Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 91 Liu Jianjun's Curse
“This isn’t because the Empress Dowager and my younger brother are fighting for power; it’s just how things have always been according to the established rites!” Li Xian said irritably.

"Is there still such a rule?"

Liu Jianjun looked quite surprised and asked, "The corpse looks stinky? Um... I'm not talking about your father, I'm just curious."

Li Xian, of course, knew Liu Jianjun's temperament.

He was a man of exceptional intelligence and literary talent, but he was completely ignorant when it came to matters of etiquette. Before coming to Chang'an, he couldn't even perform a proper bow.

He continued, somewhat annoyed, "The Book of Rites, in its section on royal regulations, states that the emperor's funeral is held after seven days and the burial after seven months; the feudal lords' funeral is held after five days and the burial after five months; while the funeral of high officials, lower officials, and commoners is held after three days and the burial after three months..."

After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Have you ever heard of Bian Que?"

Liu Jianjun nodded: "A miracle doctor, of course I know. What does this have to do with Bian Que?"

When Bian Que was practicing medicine in the state of Guo, the crown prince of Guo suddenly fainted and stopped breathing. After diagnosing him, Bian Que said it was "apparent death" and ordered his disciple to use silver needles to acupuncture points, supplemented with decoctions to regulate his body. In the end, the crown prince woke up in half a day and returned to normal.

"Later generations are worried that this situation will happen again, so they need to keep the coffin closed."

"Of course, it takes less than seven months for someone to fake their death and come back to life, but in reality, this matter is still related to the system of rites and rituals. It involves the death of an emperor, the construction of a mausoleum, the preparation of a temporary palace for the deceased, and so on. All of these take time."

"As for the stench of the corpse you mentioned, there are people in the palace who use ice to preserve it and keep out ants and insects, so that's the least of our problems."

Liu Jianjun suddenly realized.

Then he said, "Being an emperor is such a hassle; even in death, there's no peace."

Liu Jianjun's thought process is indeed different from that of ordinary people.

……

Shangguan Wan'er's secret letter did not affect Liu Jianjun's normal life. Apart from talking about the contents of the letter with him on the day it arrived, he seemed to have completely forgotten about it.

Then, he went back to messing around with his melon shed.

Li Xiantai was extremely envious of Liu Jianjun's mindset.

But Liu Jianjun's enthusiasm did not last long. Seemingly feeling that the problem of summer mosquitoes could not be solved, Liu Jianjun turned his attention back to the large area of ​​Nanyuan.

With the irrigation canal almost completed, he sent people to buy a large quantity of cotton seeds. He then divided the twenty Kunlun slaves into two groups: one group continued digging, while the other group followed him to learn how to plant cotton.

Liu Jianjun is very strict.

He only led each group of Kunlun slaves to plant cotton for one day, and then on the third day, he transformed into the strictest "planting supervisor," standing beside them with a short leather whip. If any of the Kunlun slaves dared to slack off or make even the slightest mistake, he would raise the whip and lash their dark backs without mercy.

Li Xian thought to himself, "This must be because cotton is very important to Liu Jianjun."

He did not sympathize with these servants. The laws of the Tang Dynasty were strict, and masters had the power of life and death over their servants. Liu Jianjun was only urging them on, which was already considered lenient.

He simply couldn't understand why Liu Jianjun was so concerned about cotton, even personally supervising its production, which was quite different from his usual lazy and carefree demeanor.

What role can an ornamental flower play?
Finally, he asked the question.

Liu Jianjun replied, "Important! Of course it's important! My sir, this is a treasure that can save countless lives! Growing cucumbers is just for my own appetite, but this stuff is for our grand plan!"

Li Xian was puzzled.

"Think about what we should do after your mother moves the capital to Luoyang?"

This time, before Li Xian could answer, Liu Jianjun spoke first: "It's not about winning over politicians, making connections with the powerful, or recruiting soldiers! It's about making money!"

"Because all of this is predicated on you having money!"

"People who value loyalty and righteousness like Liu Rengui are ultimately a minority. For others, you need to have sufficient benefits to do so!"

After saying that, he pointed to the large field and said passionately, "This is our capital."

Li Xian was still puzzled.

Growing cotton...can make money? Although the flowers of this plant are pure white, the plant itself is too vulgar and not favored by the rich and powerful, so very few people are willing to pay for it.

Moreover, even if Liu Jianjun successfully sells all of these nearly 100 acres of cotton, how much money will he make?
If growing cotton could make money, countless people would have done it long ago.

"Hey, I can't explain it to you now, you'll understand once it's grown!"

Liu Jianjun paused for a moment, then turned and yelled at the Kunlun slave who was moving a little slower, "Hurry up! Haven't you eaten yet!"

Then he raised his whip and lashed it across the Kunlun slave's back with a "crack," shouting, "Gouwoke!"

Li Xian couldn't help but chuckle, abandoning his thoughts on the cotton, and asked, "What kind of slang is this, an insult?"

He still remembered Liu Jianjun mentioning "Beta" earlier.

Chang'an is an inclusive city. Although the people of Chang'an did not understand the meaning of the word and only vaguely felt that it was not a good thing, they followed suit because of the dark-faced boy's extraordinary poetic talent.

Nowadays, "Beta" has become a common insult in Chang'an.

“This isn’t an insult. For these Kunlun slaves, it’s a spell to urge them to work faster!” Liu Jianjun said with that strange smile on his lips, “Of course, this can only be said to the Kunlun slaves.”

Li Xian thought for a moment and asked, "Did you hear this from these Kunlun slaves?"

In Li Xian's view, Liu Jianjun must have learned the meaning of these words from his conversations with these Kunlun slaves.

"Hmm...more or less correct."

Then, Liu Jianjun handed the whip to Li Xian and asked in an encouraging tone, "Do you want to try it?"

Li Xian was eager to try.

He was so curious whether that strange spell really worked.

"Give it a try?" Li Xian asked tentatively.

"Try it! It's free!" Liu Jianjun continued to urge.

Li Xian couldn't resist and caught the whip, then walked behind a Kunlun slave who was working hard to cultivate the land.

The Kunlun slave had obviously overheard their conversation, and his body tensed up instinctively, swinging his hoe even faster.

Li Xian thought to himself, since this person is digging so hard, why not try someone else?

But then, Liu Jianjun's urging voice came from behind: "Hurry up! Lao Ba is always like this! He pretends to be more diligent than anyone else in front of you, but he's the one who slacks off the most behind your back!"

Li Xian decided not to change it, raised the whip, and lashed it down.

Then he shouted, "Gouwoke!"

This spell really works!

The Kunlun slave called Lao Ba moved more than 10% faster in an instant, wielding his hoe so fast it almost left afterimages.

Moreover, Li Xian somewhat understood why Liu Jianjun specifically chose these "iron-willed" kids. These kids had been trained with whips since they were young, so they were tough and could withstand beatings.

Li Xian used the strength of his horse to whip the Kunlun slaves, but they didn't utter a sound.

Li Xian found it extremely interesting, and he swung the whip in his hand faster and faster.

"Gouwoke! Gouwoke!"

The Kunlun slave named Lao Ba swung his hoe faster and faster.

Just then, Liu Jianjun's hesitant voice came from behind: "Xianzi...why don't you switch to someone else? Don't kill me!"
"Missing an eight... makes it disjointed."

……

(End of this chapter)