Chapter 17 Preparation
The next morning, before leaving home to go on duty in the palace, Li Jiancheng instructed the steward that as the court had won a great victory, there must be people from small Turkic tribes being captured and sold in the West Market, so he should pick out some strong ones and buy them, and first place them in the villa outside the city. If anyone asked, he should say that he wanted to use the strong slaves to reclaim the wasteland.

The Li family lacks everything now except money. The accumulation of several generations is piled up in the treasury. In the past few years, they specially built several warehouses to barely hold the money.

The previous two generations of dukes were not extravagant people. Li Yuan spent more in comparison, but he was only willing to buy a few good horses, customize a few precious bows, and occasionally entertain some friends for drinks and fun. He did not spend a penny of the money.

It still depends on me. Sooner or later, it will all be spent. Sometimes it is easy to recruit talents, especially those who are brave but from poor families.

It's nothing more than taking off their clothes, giving away their food, giving them money and land, and helping him get promoted, gain a title, and provide for his wife and children. How can he not be so devoted?

But nowadays, those who work in the palace are either of similar family background or palace guards, so the huge family property is of no use.

There was no court meeting today, but the emperor had to meet with some important officials in the front court to discuss the Turkic issue. After changing into embroidered clothes with flower ornaments and waiting in front of the Yongxiang city gate, Yang Jishan could not help but say to Gao Rui, "Don't stare your eyes out."

Gao Rui said in a cold voice: "Li Jiancheng, our two families may not have a deep relationship, but we grew up together after all, and we are brothers. What happened last time was also due to my reasons, but how dare you curse my grandfather yesterday!"

Li Jiancheng bowed to Gao Rui and said, "I spoke out of turn in a hurry. I will go to the mansion to apologize to Duke Qi after I finish my duty today. I hope you will forgive me."

Gao Rui's breath was choked in his throat. He could neither spit it out nor swallow it, so he could only stare blankly. He didn't expect Li Jiancheng to surrender so easily.

Dou Dan hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "Jiancheng was also called by the Empress, and some of the things he said might not be what he meant. Prime Minister Gao is magnanimous and will not argue with the youngsters. Dalang, Jiancheng is the youngest, so don't be angry."

"Humph, he is young, but he is the one who has the most evil thoughts."

Li Jiancheng smiled, and soon Gao Rui could no longer keep his face straight. He could only say, "My grandfather told me last night that what you said makes sense and that I must not cause you any trouble. Otherwise, I would not give up so easily."

After a while, the emperor's sedan chair arrived. It was a golden sedan chair carried by twenty-eight people, and behind it were dozens of eunuchs and palace maids holding various utensils. It was a grand procession.

When Wei Mo is greater than the car service, it is indeed so.

Li Jiancheng winked at Yang Jishan, and the two of them fell to the end of the team and talked in low voices: "Brother, uncle Yang Shaoqing, are you free recently? I want to visit you."

Yang Jishan was a little surprised and said, "You should have heard that my uncle is not an easy person to deal with. If the matter is not serious, you can tell me and I will help you to ask father directly, so as to save you the trouble of going back and forth."

The position of Shaoqing of Dali Temple was not a prestigious position, and Yang Yue himself was injured by a branch when he fell from a tree when he was young, which resulted in him being a eunuch in the Northern Zhou Dynasty when he was a teenager. He was extremely intelligent and meticulous.

Although he had a sinister character and was quite greedy, Yang Su still believed in his words the most. Over the years, whenever there was an important matter, he would first discuss it with Yang Yue before doing it. Therefore, many times, if you wanted Yang Su to do something, you had to go through Yang Yue first, otherwise it would be very difficult to accomplish.

Li Jiancheng said briefly: "This is a serious matter, so I must talk to you in person."

Yang Jishan nodded and stopped asking: "Tomorrow is a day off, and I was going to host a banquet at home. After the banquet, I will find a quiet room for you, and then invite your uncle to come and talk in detail."

"it is good."

Escorting the emperor to the Purple Palace, Li Jiancheng and others stood on both sides, listening to the important affairs of the court. They could only provide eyes and ears, but not mouths.

When the emperor asked about people's livelihood, Wei Chong, the Minister of Civil Affairs, reported that the national population this year was about 6.64 million, which was nearly double the 3.599 million households in the first year of Kaihuang. There were about five people in one household, and the national population was about 33.2 million. The cultivated land in the country was 39.44267 hectares, and the rice storage in Xijing Taicang, Dongjing Hanjia Granary, Huazhou Yongfeng Granary, Shanzhou Taiyuan Granary, etc. was as much as 26 million shi.

Li Jiancheng's expression remained unchanged, but in his heart he was sighing at the wealth of the Sui Dynasty, which was a rare prosperous era in all dynasties. It was truly rich. He was also sighing at Yang Guang's ability to squander money. In just over a decade, he dragged a thriving country with plenty of money and food and a full treasury to destruction.

Of course, the prosperity of the Sui Dynasty was inseparable from the concerted efforts of the entire dynasty. The Kaihuang Reign was well-deserved, but a considerable part of the credit should be attributed to the previous Southern and Northern Dynasties.

History is not created at will, but under the conditions inherited from the past.

The period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties was an era of absolute division but relative stability. There had been no major wars in the Northern Dynasties since the Northern Wei Dynasty. Both the Yuwen family and the Yang family were powerful officials who usurped the throne rather than destroying the country and establishing a new one.

During the Yongxing period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, people worked hard, the harvests were abundant, and livestock prospered. Until the time of the present Emperor Datong, both public and private sectors were well-off, and there was no harm even from floods or droughts.

There is no need to mention the Southern Dynasty. Its political situation was not much different from that of the North. Apart from the Hou Jing Rebellion, there was no serious internal strife. In addition, the land was fertile and the climate was excellent, so it was a peaceful and prosperous era. It was precisely because it was too comfortable that the Southern Chen was vulnerable to the Sui army.

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Two hours later, they escorted the emperor back to the palace, and then they stayed in the classroom together to drink wine, chat and laugh, and coax Gao Rui at the same time.

It was not until Beishen came to report that Princess Leping had arrived and wanted to pay a visit to the Emperor and Empress that everyone hurriedly tidied up their robes and went out to greet her. Princess Leping was the Empress Tianyuan of the previous dynasty.

Because the emperor and empress felt indebted to their eldest daughter, Princess Leping had a very special status. She was almost one level higher than anyone she met. Not to mention officials and nobles, even the emperor had to give way to her.

But the eldest princess was not a domineering person. On the contrary, she was very peaceful. She lived in the suburbs of the capital and never asked about the affairs of the court.

After greeting, he stepped aside. The female official who came forward only checked him with her eyes and then stepped aside respectfully, not daring to actually search him.

After the princess entered the palace, several people breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the classroom to gossip in low voices: "I heard that the emperor and the empress are a little estranged, and they are no longer as close as before, sleeping and eating together. Her Royal Highness the Princess should have come for this reason."

How can a cat not be greedy after tasting the fishy smell?

It seems that His Majesty the Emperor's belated rebellion is still quite strong.

Most likely he was wanting to take a concubine, but the Queen disagreed but didn't want to force him to run away from home.

"It is said that His Majesty wants to marry Princess Ningyuan of Nanchen."

Li Jiancheng glanced in the direction of the palace bedroom. According to the queen's personality, she might not listen to the eldest princess's advice, because it was useless to talk about anything else at this time. The important thing was to divert the queen's attention from the palace bedroom to something bigger.

It just so happened that before meeting Yang Yue, he needed to get a more accurate statement from the Queen, otherwise Yang Su might not be willing to place a bet so early.

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(End of this chapter)