Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Good guy!

The last time Li Chengqian was really angry was when Li Tai challenged him for the throne; his face turned completely black.

Could it be that Li Shimin gave Li Chengqian a beating?

Or did Li Tai provoke Li Chengqian?

Or was it Li Zhi who stole Li Chengqian's man?

But Li Chengqian only had one wife, and the status of his concubines was no different from that of palace maids. Even if Li Zhi had wicked intentions, he did not have the means to steal her away.

After gathering my mind.

Du He walked to the center of the hall, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing Du He's voice, Li Chengqian finally raised his head, and his expression softened considerably.

Li Chengqian waved to the eunuchs: "You may all leave."

"promise."

The eunuchs and palace maids breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left the hall with their heads down.

After the eunuchs and palace maids left.

Li Chengqian said angrily, "Du He, I previously bet that your wives and concubines would give birth to four sons, and I won a total of 500,000 strings of cash."

"When I sent people to collect the money, Li Yuanjing, Li Yun, Li Yuanjia, and Li Yuanxiang tried to renege on their debt!"

"You shall retrieve those 50 strings of cash for me!"

this...

These feudal lords still dare to renege on their debts?

Du He exclaimed in astonishment, "Your Majesty, do those vassal kings still dare to owe you money and not pay it back?"

"Are they out of their minds?"

What a joke!

Now, those feudal lords see Li Chengqian as if he were their own father, so how dare they renege on their debts to Li Chengqian?

Li Chengqian said helplessly, "I placed the bet under the name of an attendant. In addition, as the emperor of a country, it would be bad if word got out that I was openly participating in betting."

"Besides, these people are hiding around Father Emperor, so it's not appropriate for me to go and collect the debts myself."

That's it!

It seems that those princes did not know that the person who placed the bet was Li Chengqian. Seeing that the amount of money was huge, they wanted to use their power to renege on the debt.

There was a pause.

Li Chengqian continued, "I heard that Consort Yan is about to give birth, so just two hours ago, Father Emperor led all the concubines and princes back to Yuhua Palace."

"After Consort Yan gives birth, you will take my congratulatory gifts and go to Yuhua Palace to collect the debt!"

Well...

Is Consort Yan about to give birth?

So fast?

When he heard last year that Consort Yan was pregnant, he thought she was only a month or two pregnant, but he didn't expect her to be about to give birth.

Du He extended his hand and asked with a smile, "Your Majesty, will I get any reward for helping you collect the debts?"

Li Chengqian curled his lip: "I knew you were obsessed with money. After you get the money back, I will give you 5 strings of cash as a reward!"

Du He immediately nodded and replied, "Deal!"

It's still faster to make money by taking advantage of Li Chengqian. You can earn 5 guan just by running an errand. It would be even better if there were more good things like this.

The two chatted for a while.

Du He said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I am having the artisans of the Academy of Natural Sciences devote all their efforts to researching the steam engine."

"If we can develop the steam engine, we can build a railway from Laizhou all the way to the far west of the Western Regions, which will make it easier for us to travel around the world."

"This trip covers tens of thousands of miles and offers many different views."

Steam engine?

Li Chengqian asked curiously, "Du He, what brilliant idea do you have this time?"

Du He didn't mince words and immediately introduced the steam engine and train to Li Chengqian.

After listening.

Li Chengqian said excitedly, "Du He, you devote all your efforts to developing the steam engine and train. I will also mobilize 2000 craftsmen to participate in this matter at the Academy of Sciences!"

"The Xiangli clan of the Mo family resides in Liyang County, Yongzhou. I have sent someone to bring a descendant of the Mo family to the Academy of Natural Sciences to participate together!"

"The descendants of the Gongshu family are in Tengzhou. I will send someone to invite them over!"

Although the descendants of the Mohists and Gongshu Schools had little presence in the Tang Dynasty, their influence among the common people was still enormous.

In the study of things, these two schools held a lofty position, just like Confucianism held a position among scholars and literati.

Du He smiled and said, "With the assistance of the descendants of the Mohists and the Gongshu family, I am even more confident in developing the steam engine!"

"Thank you for your support, Your Majesty."

These two ancient schools of craftsmen were most skilled in mechanical engineering, and the core of the steam engine was mechanical engineering.

Now that the Tang Dynasty is mobilizing the entire nation's resources to develop a steam engine, the progress will likely be several times faster.

Li Chengqian continued, "Du He, you can sign off on the costs of the various projects you are personally in charge of."

"If the national treasury is empty, I intend to take action against all the temples in the country and take back all my money."

There was a pause.

Li Chengqian said coldly, "A spy has reported that the Buddha statue in the Mahavira Hall of Tiangong Temple is made of pure gold."

"Those bald monks are squandering my money; I will not let them off easily!"

Is the Buddha statue made of pure gold?

No wonder Li Chengqian mentioned the persecution of Buddhism to him many times. These monks were ruthless in their methods of amassing wealth and had no sense of discretion whatsoever.

Du He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I agree with your decision to suppress Buddhism."

"When the time comes, we can convert all the temples into private schools or granaries, and the education of our Great Tang Dynasty can reach a new level."

The number of babies born in the Tang Dynasty is now very high, and the number of private schools that were originally established will soon be insufficient to meet the needs of children attending private schools.

In addition, the professors' textbooks need to be revised, and subjects such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry need to be added.

With Du He's support, Li Chengqian's face was full of smiles.

Let’s finish talking about business.

Li Chengqian stepped down from the imperial platform and said, "Du He, although Chang'an is prosperous, most of the wards and markets are still poor and the environment is very dirty and chaotic."

"Summon the heads of all departments as soon as possible and expand Chang'an City!"

Upon hearing that Li Chengqian wanted to expand Chang'an, Du He's expression shifted slightly.

He had previously had the idea of ​​creating a city that never sleeps in Chang'an, but Li Chengqian had been clamoring to move the capital to Luoyang, so he gave up the idea.

Du He asked curiously, "Your Majesty, don't you plan to move the capital to Luoyang?"

Li Chengqian shook his head: "The territory of the Tang Dynasty is constantly expanding westward, so it is better to keep the capital in Chang'an and expand the city of Chang'an."

Since the Guanzhong aristocratic families were eliminated, millions of acres of fertile land have been vacated in Guannei Road.

As for the residences, shops, and estates, many of them are vacant.

Expanding Chang'an into a super-large city, capable of accommodating millions of people, would be sufficient.

Du He nodded: "Okay!"

The two chatted for a while longer, but since Li Chengqian had other things to attend to, Du He took his leave and returned to the Privy Council.

Enter the office.

Du Hechao instructed Du Wu: "Invite Hou Junji, Minister of Works Yu Chang, Chief Craftsman Qiu Xingyan, Magistrate of Chang'an County Li Qianyou, and Magistrate of Wannian County Cheng Chubi over."

"promise."

Du Wu received the order and left quickly.

Despite being just a lowly guard, Du Wu commanded great respect from all the officials in the court, and even a group of fifth-rank officials had to give way to him.

Half an hour later.

Hou Junji, Yu Chang, Qiu Xingyan, Li Qianyou, and Cheng Chubi entered one after another.

After they bowed and paid their respects...

Du He got straight to the point: "His Majesty wishes to expand Chang'an City. Hou Junji, you should take charge of the overall planning and make a plan as soon as possible so that construction can begin in May."

"In addition to expanding the city's size, we also need to widen the alleyways where people live, build drainage ditches, dig public wells, and build special collection points for stolen goods."

"Expanding urban construction will inevitably attract a large number of people to live here. We also need to upgrade the Weihe River canal, add granaries, and open pedestrian streets and commercial streets, etc."

"I will build the Great Tang Dynasty Never Sleeping City!"

After Du He finished speaking, the expressions of the five people changed slightly.

After a while.

Hou Junji stood up, cupped his hands, and replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured, as long as the funds and manpower are sufficient, I guarantee that Chang'an will be expanded within three years!"