I opened a tavern in Datang/Datang: My peerless talent was exposed

After all, only by standing tall can you see far. When the weather is clear, a lookout post flying at a height of more than a thousand meters will have a cheating level of vision.

Besides, Zhang Nuo planned to equip them with binoculars. By that time, the enemy would have already counted their heads clearly before the enemy arrived.

When Zhang Nuo described this scene to Li Shimin, Li Shimin was as excited as anything.

But Zhang Nuo also made it very clear that because the hot air balloon has no ability to fly autonomously, it is floating purely by the wind.

Therefore, you don’t need to think about such things as transportation. There is definitely no way to do it. It can only be used as a lookout post, and even if it is a lookout post, you have to tie a rope up.

This will ensure that the hot air balloon will not drift away accidentally.At the same time, it can also pass information along the rope.

Zhang Nuo was thinking about whether to get them a semaphore or something, so that they could communicate more conveniently, but after thinking about it, it was still too troublesome, let these people learn by themselves according to the semaphore part in the naval training materials.

This also has an advantage, that is, the army and navy can communicate through semaphore, which is very useful when some army and navy coordinate attacks.

Li Shimin also agrees with this point very much, only general use in the military is a good thing.

Chapter 623 Drought Coming?

Naturally, Zhang Nuo cooks the dinner by himself. In this small villa near the sea, Zhang Nuo and Hongyu are like a couple on vacation, always doing all these by themselves, enjoying the plain but warm Family life.

At the dining table, Li Shimin chatted with Zhang Nuo while exclaiming that seafood is delicious and delicious.

And the topic of the chat is very interesting, that is, is it worthwhile to fight Turks!

When Zhang Nuo heard about this topic, he was very relieved. Lao Li finally changed from being purely good-faced before, fighting for face-saving, to knowing the pros and cons of analyzing the pros and cons. It's my own credit.

However, when I turned around and thought about it, it seemed that I had already discussed this issue with Lao Li. Zhang Nuo remembered that he had specially calculated an account for Li Shimin, which was the issue of the benefits and costs of the war.

Logically speaking, after seeing the development results of Pyongyang Province, Li Shimin should be more aware of the relationship between the costs and benefits of a war.

Why are you making trouble again now?

Li Shimin looked up at Zhang Nuo's puzzled look, he couldn't help but thought of something, and said dumbfoundedly,

"You are just boring. I used to ask you for advice. Could it be that because I asked you for this question, I can't even talk about it during dinner?"

Zhang Nuo laughed when he heard this, but he didn't expect Lao Li to be quite interesting, and he used the academic exchanges between himself and him as a topic of conversation.

However, Zhang Nuo couldn't believe that Li Shimin, the grandson of the thief, would talk about these things for no reason. This person seemed to be chatting, but once he talked about topics related to national affairs, he must have some small thoughts hidden.

Zhang Nuo wasn't worried about anything else, but felt that Lao Li was planning to trick him again, which was a bit scary.

Li Shimin looked at Zhang Nuo's expression of disbelief, and knew that he might not be able to hide it today, so he finally spoke the truth.

"Hey, you, I've never seen you so shrewd before, why come to me, you're like Zhuge Kongming, you can't even fool around."

Zhang Nuo pouted angrily,

"That's because I know you too well, and you think I'm the only one who found out? Didn't my sister-in-law find out? Hongyu didn't find out? It's just that they gave you face!"

Li Shimin looked at the two ladies next to him in surprise, and then found that these two people really looked calm, and suddenly they felt bad.

Nima, it turned out that people around him knew him so well, which made Li Shimin feel a little embarrassed. This feeling is the same as public executions in later generations. He thought he covered it up well, but after inquiring, he found out that everyone around him was Watching myself acting, it feels so sour.

But one good thing about Li Shimin is that as long as I insist on not being embarrassed, then I will never be embarrassed.

This is commonly known as thick-skinned, and coupled with Li Shimin's ancestral method of changing the topic, it can basically be fooled.

"Brother, do you think we can handle this year's drought and locust plague?"

Hearing this question, not only Zhang Nuo, but also Empress Changsun and Hongyu put down their chopsticks, and everyone looked at Zhang Nuo in unison.

For this kind of natural disaster, it is really terrifying in this era. It can really make a country go from prosperity to decline almost instantly.

Moreover, in this day and age, starving and dying are not just adjectives, they are real situations that will happen.

Those present here are some of the most honorable people in the empire, but sometimes you have to pay as much as you enjoy. For example, now even Hongyu, who is not very interested in national affairs, looks nervously at Zhang. promise.

When Zhang Nuo heard Lao Li asking this question, he also sighed unconsciously. In fact, during the two months before he went back and forth from Chang'an to Pyongyang, drought and locust plagues had already begun.

After all, last year, Zhang Nuo told Li Shimin that there would definitely be drought and locust plagues this year, and then forced Li Shimin to make preparations in advance.

Also since then, raising chickens and ducks has become the main industry in several provinces in Hebei. Many farmers have become accustomed to driving a group of chickens and ducks to their fields every day to find worms to eat.

But this may have a certain impact on the locust plague, but it has no effect on the drought that is completely a meteorological disaster.

Just in the past two months, Zhang Nuo not only received news that there was generally no rain in the pass this year, it was much drier than usual, and the water level in the river was much lower than usual.

This proves that this is no longer a local disaster, but a large-scale meteorological disaster that really affects the upstream and downstream of the river.

Dealing with such disasters is not an easy task.

No wonder Li Shimin was so worried. This was no longer a trivial matter. No matter how much preparation had been made before, there would always be a sense of powerlessness in the face of such a natural disaster.

"Lao Li, in fact, you don't have to think too much. You have already made all the preparations you can. The food is piled up in the warehouse, and early warnings have been arranged in advance. If people still starve to death under such circumstances, then It proves that some people below you are looking for death, and if you don’t kill a group, you will feel sorry for those Tang people!"

Li Shimin nodded with a serious face. As the harbinger of this year's drought slowly appeared, the ministers of the DPRK and China who had only half believed in Zhang Nuo's "prophecy" had already prepared everything possible to deal with this year's drought. up.

After all, they are not fools. They can tell from the fact that it hasn't rained all this time. Regardless of how serious the drought is this year, at least the crops will not be harvested for sure.

Then don't these hungry people need disaster relief?

Will there be enough grain in the granary by then?Will there be grain merchants hoarding or even taking the opportunity to drive up prices?

These things have to be prepared in advance and dealt with.

Although several of the ministers of the DPRK and China are engaged in the business of grain merchants, they can only watch this year, and even have to emphasize it to their families.

It’s okay to stock up on grain in advance, and it’s okay to increase the price a little at that time, but if you take advantage of the opportunity of grain shortage as in normal years, you want to make money.

Hehe, Li Shimin would probably wave his big hand with a smile and make his family a shivering chicken in the midst of killing chickens and monkeys, and then turn his family's food into Datang's by the way, and then distribute it to the victims with a smile.

After all, the risk of committing crimes against the wind this year is very high!

Chapter 624 Li Shimin's Worries About Disaster

Regarding the upcoming drought, Li Shimin is actually looking for Zhang Nuo to ask questions, just to seek psychological comfort. After all, he has already done everything he can do before.

As for those that have not been done, either it is impossible to do it at all, or it is because it can only be dealt with in a targeted manner after specific situations arise, and it is not possible to do it now.

Therefore, no matter how worried Li Shimin is now, it's just for peace of mind.

Otherwise, he really wouldn't have run out of Chang'an City so capriciously.

The reason why he left the matter to Li Chengqian was because what should be done had already been done, and the rest was to deal with the situation when it happened.

As for those things, Li Shimin had already discussed the emergency plan with Changsun Wuji and others.

Of course, this is also Zhang Nuo's suggestion. Think about it and arrange it in advance. If something happens, you can choose the most appropriate response plan according to the situation and start it directly.

This is much, much faster than having to analyze the situation and think of countermeasures at that time, especially the most time-consuming material allocation, which cannot be done in a day or two or by just one or two people.

But with the emergency plan and the emergency warehouse, everything is easy to talk about, and the rest depends on how Cheng Qian, as the king, will deal with all this.

Perhaps Li Shimin also regarded this as an exam, an exam for his heir. After all, although Li Chengqian was still young, he had studied with Zhang Nuo for a while, and also participated in so many government affairs of Lantian City.

As an heir to an empire, it is reasonable to still have to deal with the affairs of the entire country, so this exam is left to Li Chengqian.

There is no reward for doing it well. After all, this is what he should do as the prince of the dynasty. Can he be rewarded to become the emperor in advance? At most, he will be given a small amount of money to make him happy.

But if it is not done well, then the problem can be big or small. If it is too big, it will affect Chengqian's position as the heir, and if it is small, it will also affect his impression among the ministers.

In this position, no one will understand that you are too young. If you do not do well, it means that you are not a good heir.

The reality is so cruel, if you want to sit in that seat, how can you not go through the nine-nine-eight-one difficulty?

If you really can't bear it, then you can only fall into the mundane world. After all, there are people who want to sit in that seat.

As long as you still want to sit, as long as you still have thoughts, then you can only endure it.After all, as an emperor, he doesn't have the ability to do great things when he ascended the throne at a young age, so he is ashamed to be called an emperor.

Li Shimin was basically relieved that the family affairs were left to Li Chengqian and Changsun Fuji's gang, after all, what should be done had already been arranged.

But now, he is not worried about other things, he is afraid that everything is arranged well, but someone can toss a little moth for you, and mess up the great scene for you.

This is not a joke, how many policies and ideas are really well designed at the top at the beginning, and the preparations are well prepared, but when it is implemented at the bottom, it can suddenly become all kinds of tyranny.

There may be other factors in this, but to put it bluntly, it is nothing more than two situations, either the ability is not enough to do well, or the mind is too much to make troubles.

But these two situations are actually very thieves in this era. After all, being an official these days is not only for glory and mission, but also for family growth.

Just like Changsun Wuji and others, even if they are at the top of the courtiers, they have made great achievements and have great power, they still take the opportunity to get something for themselves.

It's just that Mr. Changsun Wuji is also the head of the grandson's family with a big family and a great career. Besides, there are too many people staring at him, so under normal circumstances he is still very shameless, relying on the advantages of information and the role of face fruits Let the family develop slowly.

After all, they are all mixed up in his rank, so what kind of things do they still do? One is too conspicuous, and the other is too low-income.

Why don't he rely on his predecessors to know some information, and make money in a smooth and aboveboard way? ticket.

Now Changsun's family is really digging holes like groundhogs in Pyongyang Road, wishing to dig out all the iron ore under Pyongyang Road in one day, and then send it to the smelter to slowly turn it into iron ingots.

After all, Zhang Nuo's side was almost a bottomless pit, and there were not enough iron ingots for him to digest.

With such channels and resources, Changsun Wuji naturally despises the little public funds that are handled, but the low-level officials are not good. Many of them have been poor for most of their lives. It is hard for them to have the opportunity to handle some money. If you make a fortune, you will feel sorry for yourself and your colleagues around you.

As long as the governor, the long history, the Sima, the county magistrate, and even the government servants are handled, it is not easy for everyone, so don’t be idle, there must be losses during the transportation of food, and it is understandable that the loss is slightly larger right.

Well, the governor thinks so, so does the long history, and even the servants at the bottom think so. In the end, what was originally sent to the hungry people should be rice. It could be rice porridge, or the kind where you can't see how much rice is.

There is really no way to do this kind of thing, maybe the gang of courtiers who are well-connected and have a good family background don't like the little money that is extracted from the mouths of refugees.

But for this group of people, it's different. They have never seen any big money in their life, and they have no chance to make any big money.

So, the little money that those refugees got out of their mouths.In their view, it is enough for them to let go of their conscience and moral principles.

This is what Li Shimin is worried about. As an adult, he certainly knows that if he gambles with human nature, it will inevitably fail, because human nature is often simply irrepressible.

He has no way of guaranteeing that all the officials under his command are noble people who serve the country and the people in times of crisis. He even knows that this is impossible, but how serious the situation will be and whether it will affect the implementation of the policy. really do not know.

So today he didn't want to talk to Zhang Nuo at all, it was just to vent his unbearable worry.

Now he can only hope that Li Chengqian can carry it, and then the people below can be reliable!

Chapter 625 The Crow's Mouth Is Really Spiritual

Sometimes people are like this. After experiencing things, there will always be a feeling that the good ones are not the bad ones.

During dinner last night, Zhang Nuo told Li Shimin not to worry. This wave of problems is not a big one. After all, all kinds of situations have been anticipated and various preparations have been made. Everything has been prepared.

But who would have thought that he would be slapped in the face the next day. The telegram was sent directly by Xingben, even because it was an urgent telegram sent in the name of Li Chengqian, so Xingben didn't even wait for the train to open, and just rode a horse. He rushed over all the way.

Although Zhang Nuo was a little annoyed about getting up, he could still hold back when he had business to do. He just stood beside Li Shimin with a straight face and read the telegram seriously.

Then I frowned when I saw it!

Why is the situation so serious?

Zhang Nuo said in his "prophecy" last year that the main reason is that the Guanzhong roads are prone to disasters, because the water resources themselves are not very rich, and they are extremely dependent on rivers and ditches, and the groundwater resources are not feasible given the current technical conditions. Very reasonable use.

Li Shimin and others are actually very clear about these basic situations, so they pay more and more attention to these Taos.

But it never occurred to him that no matter how much he prepared, no matter how well prepared the countermeasures were, he couldn't beat his teammate Pig.

Judging from Li Chengqian's telegram, the drought actually covered a larger area than Zhang Nuo said from the very beginning.At the same time, the preparations made by the court before are still not enough.

The most critical problem is that all the news he has received so far is the information collected by Baiqisi according to the rules, but he has not received any news reported by the local government.

In other words, the news reported by Baiqisi is much more serious than the news reported by the government, but why didn't the people from the government report it.

When Li Shimin and Zhang Nuo read the telegram, they understood that this was not only a natural disaster, but also a man-made disaster.

If there is a concealment, there must be a lie. Those who conceal the report are nothing more than for their own political achievements, and they do not want to report the drought and famine in their jurisdiction to affect their political achievements.

After all, Li Shimin asked everyone to prepare for it a long time ago, but now there is a problem. Does that mean that you didn't do it well?

In other words, after receiving the warning, there are still a large number of hungry people appearing on your side. Does that prove that you did not store food according to the above arrangement?

As for the false report, it is even simpler. The people below generally rely on false reports to make money. It is obvious that 1 people were affected by the disaster, but they can report [-], and then do whatever they want. If you deal with it, maybe you can get a reward.

But no matter whether it is a concealed report or a false report, it is the court and the people who will suffer in the end. Concealing the report will cause the people not to receive timely assistance, and false reporting will undoubtedly lead to a large amount of materials being wasted in unnecessary places.

Therefore, whether it is a lie or a concealment, as long as you are caught, the end will basically not be very good.

But everyone has a fluke mentality, and they always feel that they might not be caught, so wouldn't they be fooled?

However, judging from the telegram Li Shimin has received so far, it is estimated that this group of people will not get away with it this time.

Li Shimin's expression was very ugly at this moment!

He knew the meaning of Li Chengqian's sending this telegram, whether he wanted to send it himself or Changsun Wuji and others urged him to send it, but what he wanted to express in the end was one meaning, that is, Li Chengqian and the others planned to deal with people.

Regarding personnel arrangements, it is undoubtedly very sensitive to deal with this kind of matter when the prince is in charge of the country. If Li Chengqian does it without saying anything, even if Li Chengqian has a very legitimate reason, there may be rumors about the prince's excuse after the incident. Gossip about machine placement and manpower came out.