Chapter 207 Comfort
"Your Majesty, there is no one more benevolent and wise than you!"

No matter what they think in their hearts, what the emperor said is good deeds and beneficial actions. As subjects, they can only flatter him. If they dare to refute, they will be traitors.

The emperor immediately ordered Wei Zheng to draft an edict, saying: "The use of wine and mash is to show moderation in pleasure; the abundance of fodder is to bring about the abundance of delicious food, but those who indulge in food have abandoned their studies and forgotten their means; the lazy and frivolous people indulge in their desires.

At present, the beacons are still on alert, the war is not over, the harvest is poor, the market is bustling, many people are looking for the best, there are still many idle houses, and the food and drink are expensive, which has increased the cost. The way to remedy this problem is to make temporary measures. Officials and people in all states should stop slaughtering and selling meat."

After Wei Zheng prepared the edict, Li Jiancheng announced: "From now on, I will also be a role model for all the princes and ministers in the world. In the palace, except for the usual supplies to the emperor and the empress, all expenses will be cut starting from me and the empress.

Meals were not allowed to exceed one bowl and three dishes, and daily clothes for the four seasons were not allowed to be woven too frequently. All palace ladies of marriageable age were released, and were rewarded with money, silk, and silk to allow them to marry.

Without waiting for the civil and military officials to flatter him, the emperor instructed the Shangshu Ling: "The court should encourage the already stable counties to cultivate agriculture and sericulture, and order the prefects and county magistrates of various places to give clear advice to the local people, so that they can all work together without wasting time, and be simple and peaceful, so as to meet my wishes."

Shangshu Ling Xiao Cong agreed, and then the emperor issued an edict to abolish corvée and labor service and an edict to further ban corvée, both of which were to provide the people with a good environment to recuperate.

It was not until dusk that the emperor let everyone leave the palace. The people who were originally friendly with each other, the moment they stepped out of the palace gate, they broke into groups of three or five, and seemed to be slightly repelling each other.

The Guanlong nobles were undoubtedly still the most prominent. After all, the royal family also belonged to Guanlong, and there were also important officials of the court such as Li Jing, the Duke of Weiguo, who controlled the troops of the whole world.

Then came the Jiangnan gentry. With the Empress and the Minister of the Chancellery, even Guanlong did not dare to provoke them easily. However, this was only due to the prominence of the Xiao family. The careers of other Jiangnan families were quite ordinary.

Then there are the Shandong gentry, who flocked to Li Jiancheng after he took control of Jinyang. There are many talented people among them, and although there are no particularly prominent figures now, there are many who have entered officialdom.

Moreover, great generals such as Xu Shiji, Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao all came from Shandong. Although they were not from prominent families, they were from Shandong after all, and they had the desire to form an alliance with the Shandong people.

Then came the heroes and surrendered ministers who rose to power during the troubled times. They were regarded as rebels by the aristocratic ministers. Even though they now hold high positions, they are not regarded as colleagues and are the most excluded group.

After changing his clothes, Li Jiancheng went to Tai'an Palace to pay a visit to the retired emperor. He was very grateful that his father was able to give up this position.

Even if you are absolutely sure, it will not look good if you make a fuss.

Many palace maids kowtowed along the way. They had been in the palace for many years, and some of them had long reached the age to be released from the palace, but the Sui Emperor and the Empress were stranded in Jiangdu, and no one dared to release them without an imperial decree.

In Tai'an Palace, the banquet had just ended. Most of the royal family members were sent by the emperor to serve the retired emperor, so it was quite lively.

After paying respects to some clan elders, Li Jiancheng entered Tai'an Palace and saw that Li Yuan looked a little dejected, but when he saw him coming, he immediately looked happy again.

Li Jiancheng performed the family ceremony to his father and sat down at the bottom. The father and son looked at their respective dragon robes and crowns in silence for a while. After a long time, Li Yuan sighed: "I never thought that my father and I would be so honored."

After sighing, Li Yuan immediately said: "My son, just now many clan members took advantage of their drunkenness to express their dissatisfaction with the titles they were granted. They all thought that the title of Duke was too low and wanted to be a county prince like Xiaogong."

“Father, if I had conferred the title of prince on my relatives, they would have just complained to you about why they could not have the title of prince like Shimin Xuanba. When will human nature ever stop?
After receiving the title of prince, they will also seek to obtain more territory. Since they will always be dissatisfied, it is better to reduce their appetite from the beginning. "Li Yuan reminded: "It is still not easy to treat the royal family harshly. Not only will they have complaints, but the deceased will also criticize it if it is spread. "

The emperor is a role model in all aspects, and uniting the clan is also very important. Li Jiancheng nodded and said, "In the next one or two years, I will promote several clan members to higher positions and titles."

Li Yuan nodded and wanted to say something, but swallowed it back. Although he was the emperor, his son had been very opinionated since he was young. Saying too much might easily hurt the relationship between father and son, so he decided to just forget it.

Li Jiancheng said, "Father, how can you hide your political views from me? I came here specifically to listen to your advice."

Li Yuan was stunned. You never asked for my advice when you were conquering the world, so why are you so polite now that you have taken over the world?

Li Jiancheng said with a smile: "One person's wisdom is short but the others' are long. There are some things in this world that cannot be discussed with the ministers. Apart from my father, who else can help me?
You helped me ascend the throne, and I will trouble you to accompany me for a while. In a few years, father will be able to take mother on a tour of Luoyang."

Li Yuan looked closely into his son's eyes, trying to see if he was testing him. Li Jiancheng met his gaze calmly.

After a moment, Li Yuan said cheerfully: "Okay, but don't worry, I know there is no two suns in the sky and no two kings in the people. There are some things that we father and son can only talk about in private."

Although Li Yuan already had grandchildren, he was still in his prime at this age, and therefore still had some ambitions he wanted to realize.

I originally thought that I had no chance, but I didn't expect that I could still be the prime minister for my son. In this way, the world is governed, and he should have made some contribution in it. This is enough.

After the father and son talked it out, the original estrangement disappeared. Li Yuan felt much younger. He couldn't wait to tell his son, "Guanlong needs to be suppressed, but don't worry. From what I know about Xiao Cong, he will resign from the position of Shangshu Ling soon. If he takes the position of Shangshu Sheng, it will inevitably cause disputes within Guanlong.

The military power of Li Jing, Luo Yi, Shan Xiongxin and others should also be divided and given to Shimin, Yuanji and other clan members, so that they can make meritorious deeds. There will only be some bandits who are not worthy of being in the limelight left in the world. Although most of the clan members are not virtuous, they are still more trustworthy than outsiders.

Also, since you already have a legitimate eldest son, you should marry more concubines. Having too few legitimate royal family members is also a disaster. In addition, you can also appease the Shandong gentry...

Li Jiancheng was not able to escape until midnight. Li Yuan, who had been suppressed for a long time, had a lot of political opinions to express. Although Li Jiancheng knew most of them himself, some of them were indeed useful.

As for Li Yuan's repeated mention of appeasing the royal family and treating them well, his trip was to appease the largest clan relative in the world.

Li Jianben was originally the eldest son of the Li family. Even if he had not ascended the throne to become emperor, it would not be the turn of any elder from the side branches to point fingers at him. What's more, he has ascended the throne to become emperor now. The righteousness between the monarch and his subjects comes before the friendship between relatives.

Only Li Yuan could be considered unfilial with just one sentence.

...............

(End of this chapter)