"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The next morning, all the officials gathered in the Taiji Palace. Li Chengqian led the officials to bow.
Li Shimin had been away for more than two months. Now that he had returned, all the officials had to meet him. Even Meton, who usually did not participate in court meetings, had to wait obediently.
"Everyone, please rise!" Li Shimin said loudly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The officials stood up and saw the familiar figure of Li Shimin. The unfamiliarity of the Crown Prince regent was instantly swept away.
When Li Chengqian was regent, they had too many things to worry about. When Li Shimin was regent, they only needed to do their job well.
"Father, I have a memorial." After the officials stood up, Li Chengqian took the lead and said.
"Approved!" Li Shimin said lightly.
Li Chengqian said, "When Imperial Father left the palace, you once let me be the regent of the country. Now that Imperial Father has returned, I ask Imperial Father to take back my position of regent."
Li Chengqian's memorial could be said to be abiding by his duty. Li Shimin had returned to the palace, so it was natural for him to cooperate with the transfer of the position.
Li Shimin shook his head and said, "This is not urgent. The main reason why I asked you to be regent is to train your ability to handle government affairs. Now that you have been regent for more than two months, let me see your results."
"Father, please assess me!" Li Chengqian said in his heart.
Li Shimin looked around at the officials and said slowly, "The position of regent is to ensure that the imperial court operates normally when I leave the capital. The three provinces?"
Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling, who was leading the officials. Fang Xuanling bowed and said, "Your Majesty, when the Crown Prince was regent, the three provinces operated normally."
Wei Zheng and Zhangsun Wuji nodded and praised Li Chengqian's performance.
"What about the Six Divisions?" Li Shimin nodded and continued to ask.
The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Linghu Defen, said in a clear voice, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites is operating normally. Now that the weather has turned cold, the envoys that were sent to the Western Regions are already on their way back."
"During your visit, the Ministry of Justice has not made a single mistake, nor has there been any abuse of power," Li Daozong said solemnly.
"Among the commoners, all the funds have been allocated. The national treasury also has a lot of surplus. It is all thanks to Your Highness the Crown Prince." Dai Zhou braced himself and said.
The reason why there was a surplus in the national treasury was because after Li Chengqian reformed the relay station, the national treasury no longer allocated a large amount of money to fill the bottomless pit that was the relay station. Naturally, there was a lot of money left.
"Oh, I didn't expect the Crown Prince to be so good at managing money." Li Shimin glanced at Li Chengqian casually.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is not only good at managing money. He is like a god of wealth that has descended to the mortal world and turned stone into gold. He actually made the relay station, which was originally losing money, earn money every day."
"Your Highness the Crown Prince has advocated reforming the relay station, saving the court tens of thousands of strings of money every year."
"What is even rarer is that the relay station can send letters to the people of the world, saving them from the pain of longing. It is a benevolent government!"
"I have been away from home for many years and have not returned for a long time. Yesterday, I received a letter from my family. I am overjoyed."
…
For a time, the court was full of praise for Li Chengqian's reform of the relay station. Of course, there were sincere praises, but there were also quite a few that harbored ill intentions.
However, the more people praised him, the more uneasy Li Chengqian felt. It had to be known that he had not asked for Li Shimin's permission to reform the relay station.
"Oh, there is such a thing?" Li Shimin pretended to be surprised.
Li Chengqian panicked and hurriedly stepped forward to say, "I was just about to ask for Father's forgiveness. I did not ask for Father's permission to reform the relay station, and I also removed the driver without permission. Father, please punish me."
Li Shimin saw Li Chengqian's respectful appearance and, for some reason, felt somewhat disappointed.
When he was Li Chengqian's age, he had already begun to ride horses to conquer the world. However, Li Chengqian was becoming more and more mature.
In comparison, he preferred Meton's catfish nature. He could turn the world upside down no matter where he went. Although he had been covering up for Modun and had punished him repeatedly, he wasn't angry at all. Instead, he felt a different kind of feeling.
Li Shimin said with waning interest, "Crown Prince, what crime have you committed? Before I left, I had entrusted the world to you. If there is no military, you can decide with a single word. You reformed the relay station out of good intentions. It was to solve the financial burden of the court, and it was quite effective. As for the matter of the driver, since he said he was sick and retired, then the court can reward him more. Do not let this old official feel disappointed. "
"We thank Your Majesty for your love and care." Some of the old officials bowed in thanks.
However, some of the important officials could not help but think. Although Li Shimin was doing his best to protect Li Chengqian, a powerful crown prince needed to be protected everywhere. Just like Mo Jiazi, it was never too much to beat him up every day. How could he continue to protect him?
The more Li Shimin protected Li Chengqian, the more the officials knew that Li Shimin was not satisfied with the current Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian naturally noticed this abnormality as well, and his expression couldn't help but become somewhat ugly.
Meton could not help but sigh. Li Chengqian was still not confident enough and was afraid of the slightest thing. He had such a great merit, but because of the dismissal of a driver, he had to bring a bramble and ask for punishment. How could Li Shimin be satisfied with him being so worried about personal gains and losses?
Soon, the court conference ended with the officials' complicated thoughts. As the officials withdrew, Li Chengqian, as the crown prince, was left behind alone.
"Do you know why I left you behind alone?" Li Shimin stood upright and spoke with dignity.
"Your son is slow-witted. Imperial Father, please guide me." Li Chengqian bowed his head and said.
Li Shimin snorted coldly and said, "The expenses of the relay station each year are great. Do you think that the use of the relay station to communicate with the people of the world has not been proposed since ancient times? However, it was not accepted by the dynasties of the past. Do you know why? "
"Your son does not know!" Li Chengqian shook his head honestly.
"First of all, the previous memorials were mostly eloquent and frank. There was nothing at all. There was no feasible plan. They were not as lucky as you." Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian meaningfully.
Li Chengqian had the brilliant Mo Family's Master to give him advice and suggestions. Mister Shen, who was unparalleled in mathematics, asked for his blueprint. Su Dingfang, who had rich experience in transportation, ran around everywhere for him. The relay station reform already had a foundation for success.
Li Chengqian could not help but feel his heart tighten. He immediately knew that his actions had been seen through by Li Shimin.
"Your son took Meton's merit as my own. Imperial Father, please punish me!" Li Chengqian quickly apologized.
"You are the Crown Prince, the future Crown Prince. It is natural for you to adopt the ideas of your subjects. It is also their honor. Of course, the merits and demerits will naturally be borne by you. You did not disappoint me because you firmly grasped this opportunity. Even I have to say that you did a good job with the relay station." Li Shimin sighed and said.
The stamp system could be said to be a stroke of genius. A trend of stamp collecting made the relay station popular in the Tang dynasty. However, it was impossible to maintain the expenses of the relay station just by sending letters. Moreover, adding so many courier soldiers to send letters was a huge expense. If it was not handled well, the expenses would be even greater. This was also the reason why the dynasties of the past did not choose to use the relay station for communication.
However, with the addition of the cash flow of the Mo and Confucian periodicals, the situation suddenly changed. The income of the relay station suddenly increased by a lot. This was the only way to maintain the income and expenditure of the relay station.
"This is not worthy of Imperial Father's praise. This son was just lucky." Li Chengqian received his father's affirmation. He actually felt a lump in his throat. It was not that he did not know the risks of reforming the relay station. However, he still did so not only to prove himself in front of the officials, but also to obtain Li Shimin's affirmation.
"However, even if the relay station lost money, it could gain a good reputation in the hearts of the people. Do you know why the dynasties of the past were still indifferent?" Li Shimin changed the topic.
Li Chengqian couldn't help but pause and stare blankly.
"That is because this matter is beneficial to the world. However, it is not beneficial to the imperial family." Li Shimin's words were shocking.
"Ah!" Li Chengqian was stunned and stared in disbelief at Li Shimin.
Li Shimin indifferently said, "Why do you think the emperors of the world spend so much money every year? Other than military affairs and the delivery of official documents, the relay station can help the emperors collect information from the world. Whenever a major event occurs in the world, the first to learn of it must be the emperors of the past. We can then calmly mobilize and command, and we can even eliminate hidden dangers before other places can react.
"At present, the relay station delivers letters to the people of the world, and it is also responsible for delivering newspapers and periodicals. Although this reduces the pressure on the Imperial Court, it also makes communication much more convenient. The information advantage of the imperial family and the government no longer exists. In this way, if something happens, the entire world will know, and it will even cause great panic. Have you ever thought of the consequences?"
Li Chengqian couldn't help but panic. He had never imagined that the relay station reform he had always been so proud of would have such a loophole. His good intentions had actually led to a disaster.
"In that case, I will punish myself and abolish the relay station's communication." Li Chengqian gritted his teeth and said.
Li Shimin laughed and said, "That's where you are wrong. That is the case for the past dynasties. Our Tang dynasty is different. Now, our Tang dynasty has the world submitting to us, and our country is prosperous. Why would we care about a little bit of gossip? Moreover, I will teach you a way to be an emperor. "
"I am all ears!" Li Chengqian said modestly.
"As an emperor, the most taboo thing is to change orders. Sometimes, even if it is wrong, we must continue to be wrong." Li Shimin said with a deep gaze. As an emperor, he naturally didn't believe that a relay station could shake the rule of the Tang dynasty. He also had the heart to accept the fact that the relay station's communication was a fact.
Li Chengqian said sternly, "I understand."
However, Li Shimin only said that the relay station's communication was harmful to the imperial family. However, he didn't say the real reason why he supported the relay station reform.
Although protecting Li Chengqian was one of the reasons, it was more because he had no choice. If it was before, he would have maintained the relay station's status quo like the previous emperors. However, in recent years, with Meton's unremitting efforts, the Tang dynasty's taxes had risen year after year. However, the national treasury was increasingly short of money and was simply not enough.
Controlling the Yellow River, building brick roads, and preparing to build the Wei River Bridge were all bottomless money-swallowing beasts. However, these were important matters that benefited the country and the people, so they couldn't not build them.
In this way, saving the money allocated to the relay station every year was precious. This money was enough for the imperial court to do many things and no longer be strapped for cash. This was the real reason why Li Shimin finally agreed to the relay station reform.
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