Zhenguan Xiaoxian Wang Li Shen Li Shimin

Li Tai took a sip of tea and smiled gently:

"Hehe, I don't know about that. Human nature is greedy. They've made so much money this year, it's not easy to get them to give it up easily."

Everyone takes a chance, telling themselves that if they're careful nothing bad will happen, but they forget the lessons of the past.

Prince Ji was a pioneer in a new way of doing business among merchants. Even my uncle and my father-in-law said he was incredibly intelligent.

Even my uncle Changsun Wuji, a man of great cunning and shrewdness, suffered several losses at the hands of the Tenth Prince.

Even his son has been driven mad by Li Shen and is now recuperating in Luoyang, and has been accused of treason and collusion with the enemy.

If it weren't for my mother, he probably would have been killed by the tenth brother long ago.

Li Tai felt nothing but disdain for Changsun Huan; he was ambitious but lacked any compassion.

This gave Li Shen an opportunity to take advantage of them, and they were deceived but still didn't believe it.

It was fortunate that Li Lizhi was there; otherwise, if Li Shen had attacked Changsun Chong, his uncle would probably have died of anger.

"Your Highness, should we remind Prince Jin?" Du Chuke asked in a low voice.

“Of course, we can’t let Zhinu suffer another blow from the Tenth Prince.” Li Tai nodded immediately.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it immediately." Du Chuke bowed and accepted the order.

Li Tai nodded, stood up, and led Du Chuke back to the study. After sitting for a while, he felt a little tired.

Only after getting into bed did he speak to Du Chuke and ask:

"How is the construction of the Wei King's Causeway and Wei King's Pond in the Eastern Capital progressing?"

"Your Highness, the construction is complete. It cost a considerable amount of money, all of which was spent on hired laborers."

Du Chuke replied, his tone tinged with regret.

"It's good that it's finished. As you know, His Majesty didn't conscript any laborers this year to build the Luoyang Palace; he hired laborers instead."

If I were to conscript laborers in Luoyang, how would I explain it to His Majesty?

Li Tai was really helpless. His father had already hired people, so how could he conscript laborers himself? He would surely get scolded by his father.

What if he is impeached by the censors, who say that he is wasting public resources and causing hardship to the people?

The main problem is that they're all in Luoyang, so it's impossible to hide it.

"What Your Highness says makes sense, but the expenses are quite high. The wages alone amounted to tens of thousands of strings of cash. I heard that Luoyang Palace spent hundreds of thousands of strings of cash on wages alone this year."

I don't know why His Majesty would do this.

Du Chuke couldn't understand it. Conscription was a form of taxation, and in the past, it was always conscription.

Whether it was building palaces, roads, water conservancy projects, or digging canals, all were done using corvée labor.

The imperial court could save a large sum of money.

This time, the emperor must have been thinking something, actually hiring laborers, and hundreds of thousands of strings of cash in wages just vanished like that.

"What else could it be? It must be related to the tenth prince. In recent years, the tenth prince has hardly conscripted any laborers; he has hired them all."

His Majesty's actions were influenced by him. He is a scourge, a heretic.

He has a brain disorder, and I have it too.

Li Tai's expression finally changed; he was somewhat angry and furious. He had wasted tens of thousands of coins.

This is only because he pays low wages; otherwise, it would be much more than this.

"By the way, Your Highness, someone has sent word that we need to do a few things," Du Chuke said at this moment.

"Oh? What is it?" Li Tai asked, calming himself down.

"It's the same old story, but this time they want us to help them find someone, and they also say that we didn't keep our promise and that we took the benefits but didn't do the job."

Du Chuke replied.

Li Tai smiled dismissively upon hearing this:

"Didn't I tell them about that matter? It's not easy to handle now. As for finding the person, we'll do our best. I know who they're looking for, and there's nothing we can do if we can't find them."

Tell them we will certainly keep our promise, but my current strength is too weak to do so; ask them to wait.

"Your Highness, if we reply to them like this, won't they fight us to the death?" Du Chuke asked with some concern.

Li Tai smiled and shook his head:

"Don't worry, they won't. They still need our help in some areas."

Hmm... how about this, we definitely can't give them people, and it's not feasible for us to do that. You go and collect some books, so they won't say we took the gifts and didn't deliver.

"I still keep my promises."

"Yes, Your Highness will convey your words to them," Du Chuke replied.

"Is there no opportunity to make direct contact? I think it would be best to make direct contact with him. Since it is inconvenient for me to appear in person now, you should find someone to represent me and visit him."

Li Tai frowned and asked.

Du Chuke bowed and reported:

"Your Highness, it will be very difficult to make contact with that person at this stage. The area is heavily guarded, and no one is allowed to enter or leave."

Our people simply couldn't get close.

"So fast?" Li Tai was a little surprised, but he quickly understood. "In that case, let's wait and see when we have the chance."

There's no rush.

"Yes," Du Chuke replied.

Li Tai yawned and then waved his hand.

"Go and do your job. Don't take down the signs of the shops that have withdrawn from the betting, and don't announce it to the outside world, so as to avoid Lao Shi using dirty tricks and implicating us."

I will keep a close eye on the movements of Prince Ji's residence. I need to know Prince Ji's every move and see what he will do.

We might even be able to gain some benefits from this.

Tell the Prince of Jin to be wary of Li Shen.

"Yes, then I shall take my leave." Du Chuke bowed and left, closing the door behind him.

At this moment, a courtyard in the Prince Ji's residence was bustling with noise, the sounds coming from a two-story building.

"Brother Li, you're back too?"

"Yes, I happened to be back for my work report, and I rushed over as soon as I heard the news."

"I wonder how much money we'll get this time."

"It shouldn't be less."

"Please keep your voice down, His Majesty is in the private room."

"What? His Majesty is here too?"

On the second floor, dozens of people were having a lively discussion.

"Your Highness, everyone has arrived."

Inside the private room, Wang Hongfu stood respectfully at the door to report.

"How many people have arrived?" Li Shen asked without turning his head.

"Your Highness, a total of seventy-four young men have arrived, and representatives from the other families have also come."

Wang Hongfu bowed and returned.

"More than seventy people, that's quite a lot. I thought there would only be twenty or thirty." Li Shen was quite surprised to hear that so many people had come.

These纨绔 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) have now all entered officialdom. Some serve as local officials, while others lead troops in the army. Only a few illegitimate sons, third or fourth sons, or younger sons remain in Chang'an.

"Tenth Brother, you may not know this, but this year is the major examination held every three years. Many officials will have to return to Chang'an to report on their duties and await reassignment next year."

They must have done a good job, so let's return to Chang'an and wait.

Li Chengqian spoke up to clear up Li Shen's doubts.