I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

"Yes, very good. The Tibetan king has come to pay homage. Our Great Tang must treat him with courtesy and not be disrespectful."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

Li Shen curled his lip, thinking that these literati only knew how to make up stories. The person clearly came for medical treatment, but they insisted on saying that the person came to pay homage.

If they wanted to pay homage, they would have come long ago. Why would they wait until now?

Li Chengqian pretended not to notice Li Shen's expression. Today was the last day of court for the year, and Li Chengqian hoped to spend it happily and peacefully.

He didn't want to cause any more trouble.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I have made all the arrangements. Officials from the Court of State Ceremonial will personally accompany you on New Year's Day."

Changsun Wuji bowed and replied.

"This year, on the first day of the new year, His Majesty wishes for universal celebration, so he has opened the Court of State Ceremonial, allowing envoys from various regions to freely enjoy themselves on that day."

To ensure their safety, and also to ensure the safety of the people of Chang'an, we must do everything possible to ensure absolute safety.

Can the patrol arrangements be clearly coordinated?

Li Chengqian looked at the Ministry of War.

Hou Junji, who had been reinstated, quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying:

"Your Highness, the Wuhou Guard has been properly arranged. The Right Guard has been increased to ensure that every street and market area is patrolled."

"That's good. We must not let anything go wrong, as this represents the honor of our Great Tang Dynasty."

Li Chengqian was extremely cautious about this matter. Chang'an was the capital city; if something happened there, it would be a laughing stock for other countries.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will personally oversee the matter." Hou Junji bowed.

"Your Highness, while His Majesty's actions demonstrate the magnanimity of our Celestial Empire, what should we do if something happens to them?"

Should we send officials to accompany them, lest...?

Changsun Wuji was only halfway through his sentence, but everyone understood that he was firstly afraid that something might happen to these people, and secondly, he was also afraid that they would steal secrets.

Even today, the Tang Dynasty still holds many secrets.

"It's alright, I've already made arrangements, you gentlemen need not worry." Li Chengqian smiled, having already entrusted this matter to Li Shen.

He believed Li Shen would do a good job.

"Is there anything else, everyone?" Li Chengqian glanced at Li Shen, then asked the people below.

At this moment, Tang Jian, the Minister of Civil Affairs, rose and bowed:

"Your Highness, the money from the World's Number One Merchant Guild was delivered to the national treasury yesterday and has just been counted today."

"Oh? Tell me the exact amount quickly?" Li Chengqian had only heard a rough figure that day, and the thought of the imperial court having money again filled him with excitement.

"Your Highness, this is the account book. Please take a look." Tang Jian took out the account book and presented it to Wang Zhong, who quickly came down, took it, and handed it to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian opened the ledger, his pupils contracted sharply. Even though he was mentally prepared, his heart still skipped a beat when he saw the last number.

"Are you sure the count is correct?" Li Chengqian looked up at Tang Jian.

"Your Highness, this old minister personally inspected the weight. I was present throughout the weighing process, and only after confirming the weight was correct after two weighings did I come to report to Your Highness."

Tang Jian was also afraid of making a mistake, after all, this money belonged to Ji Wangshen, the Ghost King. If anything went wrong, this guy would pursue it to the end and wouldn't give you any leniency.

"Good, good, hahaha, that's great!" Li Chengqian exclaimed repeatedly, laughing heartily.

The more powerful a country is, the more it will naturally spend; this is inevitable.

Military equipment, people's livelihood, infrastructure construction—money is needed everywhere. The annual maintenance and repair of roads alone is a huge expense.

"Your Highness, may we hear how much money the First Merchant Guild has sent this year?"

Ma Zhou said with a smile, "Anyone can see that the Crown Prince is very happy. He must have a lot of money this year."

"Minister Tang, why don't you speak with your ministers?" Li Chengqian said with a smile as he closed the ledger.

"Yes, the First Chamber of Commerce has sent 1,637,440 taels of gold this year," Tang Jian said loudly after bowing.

"Only a little over a million? Isn't that a bit low?"

As soon as Tang Jian finished speaking, people below began to discuss.

They thought there were many more; surely His Highness the Crown Prince must have misread it.

However, Changsun Wuji was the first to react:

"Minister Tang, are you referring to gold?"

"gold!!"

Everyone was startled by Changsun Wuji's words and looked at Tang Jian, wanting to verify.

Tang Jian nodded with a smile:

"That's right, it's gold. Because the amount was too large, Manager Wang was worried that the national treasury wouldn't be able to hold it, so it was delayed by a few days and replaced with gold."

"Doesn't that mean it would be more than 16 million strings of copper coins?" Someone immediately reported an astonishing figure.

"Impossible!!" Amidst the shock, some people found it hard to believe; fourteen million guan last year was already astonishing enough.

This year, there's an extra two million strings of cash. How come all the wealth in the world is here?

"Minister Tang, did you order the wrong thing?"

An imperial censor from the Censorate rose, bowed, and asked. It wasn't that he didn't believe it, but rather that he couldn't believe it. The number was enormous, larger than any territorial expansion.

"Hmm? Are you questioning me? I'm not blind yet. I personally watched these gold pieces being weighed."

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has calculated it twice; I can guarantee with my official position that there will be absolutely no error.

Upon hearing someone question him, Tang Jian immediately objected, insisting that the Ministry of Civil Affairs' standards were the standard, even more so than those used by the common people.

"Minister Tang, please calm down. I am not questioning you, but this... isn't this a bit too much?"

The censor hurriedly apologized.

"Alright, my beloved ministers, there's no need to question it. I've already checked the accounts, and it is indeed sixteen million strings of cash."

"Wow~~"

As soon as Li Chengqian finished speaking, the court was in an uproar.

"It really is sixteen million strings of cash,"

"Unbelievable, unbelievable."

"Ah! The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel has fainted!!"

Amid the discussion, an elderly man suddenly collapsed to the ground, and those nearby rushed to help him up.

Li Chengqian was also stunned. Although the number was a bit large, it shouldn't be enough to make him faint, right?

"Quickly help Vice Minister Liu down to see the imperial physician," Li Chengqian ordered hastily.

Immediately, a eunuch rushed in and helped the Vice Minister of Personnel out.

The hall returned to calm, and everyone's eyes turned to Li Shen, who was kneeling at the front.

He was leaning to one side and slouching, he didn't look like a prince at all.

Li Shen was actually in a standby state at this time. There was no way around it; he had to get up too early for the morning court session, especially the grand one, so he was feeling a bit listless.

He squinted and pretended to sleep, automatically filtering out whatever others said.

"Tenth brother, you have truly astonished me." Li Tai looked at Li Shen with a complex expression on his face, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

He had already overestimated Li Shen, but he still had to reassess Li Shen's abilities.

With over 16 million strings of cash, he could have started his own country, but this guy just took it all out and gave it all to the national treasury.

Wasn't this guy supposed to be very greedy?