Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

Upon hearing Wang De's words, Li Shimin was slightly taken aback.

"What grudge could Gao Ming possibly have against that rebellious son? But now that you mention it, it's quite possible that the rebellious son did it on purpose."

That bastard, he always does things so recklessly.

If the uninformed common people found out, wouldn't the Crown Prince's reputation be damaged?

Li Shimin stroked his beard and pondered for a moment as he spoke:

"It seems we need to find a pretext to punish this rebellious son again. Otherwise, the renovation of Luoyang Palace this year will once again require exchanging gold for copper coins."

"This... Your Majesty, I'm afraid there won't be an opportunity anytime soon."

Wang De smiled wryly upon hearing Li Shimin's words; this father was always thinking about how to get money out of his son.

That son deserved it; he was always eyeing his father's money.

"No chance? What do you mean?" Li Shimin was taken aback.

Wang De quickly replied:

"Your Majesty, this old servant has received news that a few days ago, His Highness Prince Ji took his concubines to the medical academy and has not returned since."

"It seems the concubine is about to give birth."

"Why didn't you say so sooner? That scoundrel must have been having a lot of fun out there. I thought he was going to visit that ice and snow city."

Li Shimin immediately became anxious. He said, "Why has it been so quiet these past two days? It turns out that the rebellious son has run away."

"Your Majesty, it is true that a concubine of the Prince Ji's residence gave birth. This is the first child born to the Prince Ji's residence in many years, so it is normal for His Highness to be cautious."

Wang De offered some words of advice.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately nodded in agreement:

"You're right. This is the first child born to the Ji Prince's family in many years, so naturally the royal family must take it seriously."

Even if she was born to a concubine, she is still of royal blood.

Go and send someone to inform the Empress and the Imperial Concubine of this news, but do not say that I ordered them to do so.

"Yes, this old servant will send someone to inform them shortly." Wang De did not understand Li Shimin's intention, only thinking that he was telling the Empress and Consort Wei the good news.

"No, we'll go now." Li Shimin waved his hand.

Wang De didn't dare to delay. He bowed and went out to arrange for someone to inform them. It was just a matter of a few words, and he returned quickly.

"How many copper coins do we have left in our imperial treasury?" Li Shimin asked when he saw Wang De return.

"This...this old servant doesn't know either, it's all under the Empress's control."

Although he was a eunuch and the chief steward of the inner palace, the imperial treasury was not under his jurisdiction; it was managed by the Empress.

Perhaps even the chief eunuch of the Lizheng Palace knew more about it than he did.

"You must know how much more money the Luoyang Palace will need, right?"

Li Shimin's face darkened with displeasure as he spoke.

"This old servant knows that if the Luoyang Palace is fully repaired, it will take another two years, costing about 1.5 million strings of cash each year."

This is mainly because we don't conscript laborers; if we did, we could save half the money.

Wang De replied. After speaking, he hesitated for a moment before continuing:

"Your Majesty, this expense is too great. How about we recruit more laborers this year...?"

Before Wang De could finish speaking, Li Shimin sighed and shook his head:

"Sigh... Forget it. Since I didn't conscript laborers in the first place, wouldn't conscripting them now be making me break my promise?"

A ruler's word is law; let's do it this way. Just as that rebellious son said, this will make many people rich.

Throughout history, dynastic changes have always been caused by the government imposing various exorbitant taxes and levies, making it impossible for the people to survive, which led to rebellions.

Old Ten is right. If life is good, who would follow someone to rebel? They'd be risking their lives for it.

In the end, some succeeded, some became emperors, some were granted titles and high positions, but what did the common people at the bottom get?

"Your Majesty is right. In the end, it is the common people who suffer. They are forced to rebel."

Just like those barbarians in the north, every time they raided south, it was for survival; they only followed the people who couldn't survive.

In the end, most of the things were taken by the tribal chiefs.

Wang De nodded. He had followed His Majesty for many years and was quite knowledgeable, having also come from a humble background.

In the end, wars only bring suffering to ordinary people; regardless of who wins or loses, it is always the lower classes who suffer.

Those in power were granted titles and ranks, and from then on lived a life of luxury.

"Therefore, I also believe that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Ensuring the people are well-fed and clothed, and that their lives are prosperous, is crucial."

Even if someone wanted to rebel and overthrow my Li family, not many people would follow. This is a calculated strategy.

Li Shimin sat up, exuding an aura of royalty. Some people are born to be kings.

"Your Majesty, this expense is far too much. Only now do I understand why His Highness Prince Ji always says he has no money."

He never had to perform corvée labor.

Although Wang De understood the reasoning, he still felt a pang of regret spending the money, as he didn't actually need that much.

"Of course, most of his money has been spent on labor over the years. The road he built from Chang'an to Qinghai has been under construction for two years."

With hundreds of thousands of people employed and annual wages alone amounting to millions of strings of cash, how could he possibly be wealthy?

Otherwise, how could I have tolerated him swindling and extorting money everywhere?

Li Shimin pursed his lips, stood up and sat down at the tea table. Xu Hui immediately stepped forward and poured him a cup of tea.

"I originally thought I would get 300,000 strings of cash from him to repair Luoyang Palace, but I didn't expect to not only not get the 300,000 strings of cash, but also lose over a million strings of cash."

I always felt that the tenth prince was deceiving me.

"Your Majesty, surely not? The money Your Majesty is contributing is for business dealings with Prince Ji. If it succeeds, it will surely be extremely profitable."

Wang De quickly comforted him, otherwise His Majesty wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

"I hope so." Li Shimin was almost suffering from paranoia. He always felt that his money was gone forever after he gave it to Li Shen, so this year he asked himself not to contribute any money and even take a share.

"Your Majesty, the Empress and the Imperial Concubine have arrived," a eunuch outside the door reported.

"Please come in."

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, the Empress led Consort Wei in.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Consort Wei bowed.

"Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress and Your Highness the Imperial Concubine," Xu Hui followed suit.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Li Shimin pulled the Empress to sit down:

"Guanyinbi, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"

"Second Brother, someone just reported that Shen'er took his concubine who is about to give birth to the medical school. I am a little uneasy and worried that something might have gone wrong."

As you know, this child was born after a long interval; it's Shen'er's first child since she fell ill.

"I plan to go with Sister Wei to the medical academy."

After sitting down, Empress Zhangsun immediately expressed her concerns: Li Shen had been ill for many years and had finally had an heir, which was crucial for the continuation of the Ji Prince's family.

"It's just a maid giving birth; Guanyinbi doesn't need to personally visit, does she?"

(Having seen the vast ocean, one finds it hard to be impressed by mere rivers; having beheld the clouds of Wushan, one finds other clouds pale in comparison.)