My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

Chapter 28 Su Wan: Your Highness, can't you do some engineering projects and earn some extra mo

Li Chengqian's current situation is that he has the support of ministers such as Du He and Du Zhenglun.

Ashina She'er held military power outside, but he had relatively few troops.

Su Gui was among the Imperial Guards, but her rank was not high. However, it didn't matter; Su Gui was still young and would have room for promotion in the future.

Empress Zhangsun did everything in her power to protect him;

There are also considerate guards like Chengxin who are responsible for reconnaissance and arrests.

The only regret is the lack of a brother like Yinxiang who supported Yinzhen.

Most of the princes coveted the position of crown prince, but as for Qingque, he shouldn't even think about it; it would be a blessing if he didn't rebel.

Li Chengqian set up such a scheme, and hope rose in his heart.

However, he felt that his strength was still weak and there was still a lot of work to be done.

"Your Highness, what are you daydreaming about?"

Li Chengqian was lost in thought when, without him noticing, Su Wan had already come to his side.

"Oh, it's you?" Li Chengqian finally came to his senses and looked at her.

Su Wan was dressed up in a flamboyant manner today, with her head full of jewels and looking as beautiful as a fairy. She had a piece of clothing hanging on her arm.

"Stand up for a moment. I've made you a long robe. Try it on to see if it fits."

"Made for me?" Li Chengqian was very surprised.

"Yes, the weather is gradually getting warmer, and we'll soon be able to take off those cotton-padded coats."

Li Chengqian stood up, took off his cotton-padded coat, and put on a long gown, which fit him perfectly, as if it had been tailor-made for him.

Do you like the color and style?

"Not bad," Li Chengqian couldn't help but ask, "How did you know my size?"

"You forgot, the night we slept on the tatami mat, I was able to know your bust, waist, and hip measurements."

"Uh—," Li Chengqian choked for a moment, thinking to himself, "They say women are meticulous, and it's true." "Then thank you."

Su Wan smiled gently: "Do we need to be so polite between us?"

They then talked about the recent events in Chang'an.

Li Chengqian asked, "Has Miss Xue'er's injury healed?"

"It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, how can it heal so quickly! But it's mostly healed now."

"That's good!"

"Your Highness, do you think that nothing will happen to Qingque after she leaves Chang'an?"

"Currently, I haven't heard anything about him."

"However, I heard Xue'er say that one night, when the physician who treated her was treating Fang Yi'ai's ailment at Fang Yi'ai's home, he saw Li Tai sitting there as well."

Ok?

"Is that so?" Li Chengqian was quite surprised. "So, Qingque didn't go to Yangzhou?"

"No, this happened before Qingque went to Yangzhou."

"Oh, what illness does Fang Yi'ai have?"

"I heard he has some problems with his sexual function, and it seems he has some difficulty having sex."

"..."

Li Chengqian rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a moment: "So, it seems that Li Tai and Fang Yi'ai have a good relationship."

Su Wan placed her hands on her chest, looked at Li Chengqian with her beautiful eyes, and sighed: "Your Highness, I'm not talking about you. Your father is middle-aged now, at the height of his power. He still has a long way to go. In other words, it's too early for you to inherit the throne."

Moreover, he now favors Li Tai.

Li Tai is not as simple as you think.

Although Fang Yi'ai was uneducated and only a military man, holding the official rank of Right Guard General, you should know that his father was Fang Xuanling.

Was Fang Xuanling any less formidable?

Who doesn't know the saying "Fang's planning and Du's decisive action"? He was the one who came up with the plan for the Xuanwu Gate Incident, a master of intrigue. Without his strategy, could your father have become emperor? He would probably have died long ago.

Therefore, after your father ascended the throne, in order to repay him, he appointed him as the prime minister of the court.

Although Fang Xuanling devised the plan for the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he did not dare to tell your father directly. Instead, he first spoke to Changsun Wuji, who then relayed the message to your father.

Therefore, in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling made equally significant contributions, and the two became sworn brothers.

Your mother is very supportive of you, but for some reason, she opposes Changsun Wuji becoming a high-ranking official and prevents him from becoming prime minister. Instead, she makes him a sinecure with no real power. On the contrary, she promotes Fang Xuanling. This shows that your mother and Fang Xuanling have a very good relationship.

Fang Xuanling was shrewd and calculating. On the surface, he did not support Li Tai, but Fang Yi'ai was on good terms with Li Tai. This meant that Fang Xuanling was secretly supporting Li Tai. Couldn't you see this situation?

Therefore, your current situation remains very dangerous.

After listening to Su Wan's analysis, Li Chengqian felt deeply that the current situation was indeed not optimistic.

"It is understood that Li Tai not only won over Fang Yi'ai, but also had close ties with Prime Minister Cen Wenben and Liu Sidao. In addition, Chai Lingwu, Wei Ting and Du Chuke, as well as those so-called learned scholars in the Literary Academy, were all his accomplices. Unbeknownst to many, he had already built his own faction."

"It seems I underestimated Qingque. I didn't expect this kid to be so thoughtful," Li Chengqian paused, "How did you know all this?"

"Have you forgotten? My father is the Secretary-General, and he sees all the factions in the court clearly."

"You're right."

"Therefore, you need to build your own team; you can't manage alone."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian said helplessly, "You don't know this, but since the war with the Eastern Turks started last year, our Eastern Palace's budget has been cut again and again. Even if I want to win over and buy off some people, I still have to spend money."

In this day and age, is it feasible to order people around for free?

The current budget is only enough for the Crown Prince's Palace to maintain its daily expenses; no, it seems we already owe the palace maids and eunuchs three months' wages.

"Huh? Your father is so stingy with you?"

What kind of literary museum did Li Taixing set up, and how much did it cost? Where did his money come from?

"Yes, there are many things that cannot be compared. I am different from Qingque. He has twenty-two states under his jurisdiction. He is the Grand Governor of Yangzhou and also the King of Yue. He is a landlord, extremely wealthy."

"Landlord?" Su Wan found the term novel.

"It's because he governs a large area, with lots of land, abundant resources, and sufficient taxes."

Su Wan frowned: "Then you need to find a way to do some side hustle and earn some extra money."

Li Chengqian gave a wry smile: "What kind of side hustle could I possibly have?"

"I've heard that construction projects are very profitable, with profits split 50/50. Why don't you get some projects done?"

These words truly enlightened Li Chengqian. He realized that the Eastern Palace did indeed have three old houses. When it rained, the roofs would leak, and the ground and walls were covered with moss. This really affected the image of the Eastern Palace. This image improvement project was worth doing.

"Let's give it a try!"

Therefore, Li Chengqian wrote to Li Shimin, requesting to rebuild the three dilapidated houses. The craftsmen estimated that it would cost 10,000 taels of silver.

Zichen Palace.

Li Shimin was reviewing memorials, with Wei Zheng standing beside him.

Coincidentally, Li Shimin came across Li Chengqian's memorial. After reading it several times, he did not express his opinion, but instead handed the memorial to Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng took it with both hands and opened it to read.

Li Shimin glanced at Wei Zheng and asked, "My dear minister, what do you think should be done about this?"

Wei Zheng stroked his beard, took a few steps, shook his head, and slowly said, "Your Majesty, to start from a broad perspective, our Great Tang Dynasty has not been established for long. After these years of recuperation, the population has increased to a certain extent, but it is still relatively small."

Last year, His Majesty sent Li Jing to lead troops to conquer the Eastern Turks. Although we achieved a final victory, we also paid a heavy price for it.

As for the surrounding situation, the Western Regions, especially the Tuyuhun, are eager to challenge our Tang Dynasty. That old fellow was once beaten to a pulp by Yuwen Shu, a general of Emperor Yang of Sui, and fled south to the snowy mountains, barely escaping with his life. Later, taking advantage of the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he restored his kingdom.

Therefore, Your Majesty has decreed reductions in palace and external expenditures, including the daily expenses of concubines, princes, and princesses, as well as the salaries of ministers. I believe this is the right thing to do.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin thought to himself, "What do you mean by that? Do you want me to raise your salary like Kong Yingda did?"

Wei Zheng continued, "However, the expenses for the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace have been reduced repeatedly, and can no longer be reduced."

How did I find out about this?

I am also the Crown Prince's teacher. Once, when I went to give a lesson, the Crown Prince did not have any tea to serve me.

The Crown Prince then took out tea leaves from five years ago and brewed them for me to drink. But those tea leaves were moldy; could I drink them?

Your humble servant has heard that the Crown Prince's Palace still owes the eunuchs and palace maids their monthly allowances, which is rather unreasonable.

If we compare the Crown Prince with the King of Yue, the King of Yue has mountains of money in his treasury and can spend it however he wants, while the Crown Prince is strapped for cash, which seems a bit incongruous.

As for those three dilapidated houses in the Eastern Palace, I am aware of them; they certainly do damage the palace's image.

If foreign envoys were to visit the Eastern Palace, it would truly damage the lofty image of our Great Tang in their eyes. Therefore, I believe that the Crown Prince's application should be considered. Materials and labor are very expensive now, and ten thousand taels of silver is not much.

Of course, His Majesty must consider this matter carefully.

Upon hearing Wei Zheng's words, Li Shimin's face flushed red and then turned pale. He thought to himself that this old Taoist priest was quite sarcastic, and in the end, he was just saying that he was stingy and biased. However, out of consideration for their relationship, he could not retaliate.

Li Shimin stood up, put his hands behind his back, and smiled slightly: "My dear minister, don't you know what kind of person I am?"

Here, I'll tell you a story.

Back then, Yuchi Gong wasn't my subordinate; he was Liu Wuzhou's man. That old blacksmith was incredibly strong, and he chased after me relentlessly. I suffered terribly because of him.

Later, I finally had a chance to subdue him, but I cherished his talent and couldn't bear to kill him.

He was incredibly stubborn, constantly saying things like, "Kill me if you want, torture me if you want. To even flinch doesn't make you a hero!"

So I took out a hundred catties of gold and said to him, 'If you stay and surrender to me, I will welcome you;'

"If you wish to leave, I will give you one hundred catties of gold as travel expenses."

Yuchi Gong knelt down and kowtowed, wholeheartedly submitting to the cause. From then on, we, ruler and subject, fought bravely together on the battlefield, winning countless victories. Have you heard of this?"

Li Shimin's words were tantamount to rebuking Wei Zheng.

"Uh," Wei Zheng choked, "Your Majesty is naturally a generous and forthright person!"

Li Shimin sighed: "As the saying goes, you don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. Ever since I took this position, I've been worrying about money every day."

In the early days of the People's Republic of China, everything was in need of rebuilding and money was needed everywhere. How could we dare to be extravagant or wasteful?

Can you fight a war without an army, horses, or provisions?

The amount of money spent on these things is countless. Where did all the money come from?

If I hadn't been frugal and cut back on all expenses, do you think Li Jing could have destroyed the Eastern Turks?

That's a joke.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Wei Zheng understood Li Shimin's meaning, which was that the credit should not be entirely attributed to Li Jing alone.

"Indeed, I don't give the Crown Prince much money. I'm afraid that Chengqian will develop a habit of extravagance and waste. He is the Crown Prince and should set an example."

The other princes are all watching him.

We should learn from Emperor Wen of Sui; he was a master of financial management.

If Emperor Wen of Sui hadn't accumulated a substantial fortune, would Emperor Yang of Sui have been able to squander his wealth so much?

Later, Pei Yun presented the "Appearance Inspection Method" to the Sui court, leaving no place for those who wanted to evade taxes. As a result, the Sui Dynasty's treasury became increasingly full. At its peak, the Sui Dynasty's granaries were full, and there was nowhere to store much grain. The wealth of the Sui Dynasty was many times greater than ours.

Unfortunately, I don't have his abilities. While I'm passable at warfare, I'm far inferior to him in financial matters.

Wei Zheng seized the opportunity to say, "Your Majesty has self-awareness, which is truly commendable!"

"However, you just mentioned that the three old houses in the Eastern Palace are dilapidated and seriously affect the image of the Eastern Palace. It is indeed necessary to repair them. Alright, I grant your request!" Li Shimin said, writing a single word on the memorial: Granted!

With this approval, Li Chengqian was able to withdraw silver from the national treasury.

Li Chengqian was a decisive and efficient person who disliked procrastination. After receiving the 10,000 taels of silver, he immediately summoned craftsmen and began to repair the three old houses.

It's called three old houses, but in reality, most of the glazed tiles on the roof are broken, the wood is rotten, and the walls are pitted and collapsed in many places. What value do they have? It seems better to just tear them down and rebuild them.

However, Li Chengqian thought again that reconstruction and renovation are two different concepts.

If the palace is rebuilt, some ministers will surely say that the crown prince is extravagant.

However, renovation is different. To some extent, this old house still has a certain commemorative significance. It is said that Li Yuan once slept in this house for one night, and the woman who served him was Consort Yin.

After all, it's the place where my grandfather fought his way up, so it holds great significance.