Liu Rengui was always a nobody, whether in the imperial court or in the local government.

Just now, the Imperial Attendant Chu Suiliang suddenly approached him and said he wanted to recommend him to His Highness the Crown Prince, which frightened him so much that he wanted to pretend to be sick and go back to his hometown.

He knew all too well what kind of person the Crown Prince was; he was someone who could squander a winning hand.

Furthermore, everyone in Chang'an knows that His Majesty favors his eldest grandson and has the idea of ​​passing the throne to him.

If we now pledge allegiance to His Highness the Crown Prince, wouldn't that be just like joining Wang Shichong's army at the end of the Sui Dynasty?

However, neither Chu Suiliang nor Changsun Wuji were people he could afford to offend. If he dared to refuse, those two could really kill him!

Therefore, he arrived at the Wannian County Government Office with trepidation to pay his respects to His Highness the Crown Prince.

Although Changsun Wuji had never heard of Liu Rengui before, when he met Liu Rengui, he still enthusiastically stepped forward and shook the other's arm.

"I have long heard of Brother Liu's name. Brother Liu is not afraid of His Majesty and advised His Majesty to cherish the farming season and not to hunt. He is truly a loyal minister of the country!"

Hearing this, Liu Rengui felt somewhat better and said with a face full of gratitude.

"I never imagined that Lord Situ would know about my reckless act. I am truly ashamed!"

"What's there to be ashamed of? You're here to pay homage to the country!"

"Come, come, quickly pay your respects to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Rengui bowed to Li Zhi.

"This humble official greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Li Zhi had just been lectured by Changsun Wuji, and upon seeing this, he quickly adopted a humble and respectful demeanor.

"Lord Liu, you may dispense with the formalities!"

"I am now governing Wannian County by order of my father, the Emperor, but I have no political experience and will need Lord Liu's guidance in the future!"

Liu Rengui had carefully observed the policies and achievements of Chang'an and Wannian counties and knew that both counties had encountered good officials who not only solved the problems that had been left over in Chang'an for many years, but also implemented many benevolent policies that benefited the people.

Therefore, he only had four words to say when faced with Li Zhi's question.

"Your Highness, Xiao Guicao is ready!"

"What?"

Li Zhi was very unhappy to hear this. If he really followed Xiao Gui Cao's rules, wouldn't he be even inferior to Li Jue's retainers?

Although Li Jue did not accept Li Yifu and Su Dingfang as retainers, Li Zhi still regarded the two as part of Li Jue's faction and wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.

“Your Highness, Li Yifu has implemented many good policies in the past. If you simply follow his example and continue to implement them, you will gain a great reputation.”

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi firmly shook his head.

"no!"

"I will devise policies that surpass theirs!"

Upon hearing Li Zhi's words, Chu Suiliang frowned slightly and then looked at Changsun Wuji beside him.

Although Changsun Wuji was also displeased, he agreed with Li Zhi's statement.

After all, completely copying the policies of his predecessor would make Li Zhi appear somewhat incompetent.

"Brother Liu, you have many years of experience as a local official, why don't you come up with some practical policies for the Crown Prince?"

Seeing that Changsun Wuji had spoken, Liu Rengui had no choice but to grit his teeth and rack his brains for ideas.

"Lord Changsun, it's not that I'm trying to shirk responsibility, but Li Yifu's previous policies were indeed sound. Making arbitrary additions or changes would easily leave the people confused!"

Changsun Wuji shook his head upon hearing this.

"no!"

"Li Yifu's previous policies, no matter how good, cannot be used. New policies must be devised. As long as you can achieve results, I will recommend you to enter the Three Departments and serve as an official of the fourth rank or above!"

"Lord Changsun, I only wish to serve the court and do not care much about official rank..."

Changsun Wuji snorted coldly upon hearing this, not believing Liu Rengui's words at all.

"Protect the two sons!"

"grown ups……"

"I hereby bestow upon your mother an imperial decree!"

"I……"

If it were just a promotion or a title bestowed upon his wife and children, Liu Rengui wouldn't have cared much. But when Changsun Wuji mentioned bestowing an imperial title upon his mother, it made him hesitate.

His father died early, and his mother was able to support his education by washing clothes for others.

However, he felt extremely guilty for spending more than a decade in officialdom without being able to earn any recognition for his mother.

When Changsun Wuji saw the hesitation on Liu Rengui's face, he immediately knew that he had made the right decision with this drastic measure.

"Brother Liu, a son should make his parents famous through his own achievements; that is true filial piety!"

"I will soon submit a petition to His Majesty to request an imperial decree for your mother, so that she may bring honor to her hometown and be remembered for generations to come!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Rengui finally lowered his proud head.

"This humble official thanks you greatly, Lord Changsun!"

"I've just thought about it, and it's true that Li Yifu's previous decrees shouldn't be changed. However, we can add a few more clauses to his decrees!"

"What?"

"The so-called common people are nothing more than those who need food, clothing, shelter and transportation."

"Li Yifu had previously focused on improving the transportation system, repairing the roads between neighborhoods, and also renovating open and covered ditches, but he hadn't had time to address the issues of clothing, food, and housing."

"If we want to formulate better policies than those in Chang'an, we can only start from these three aspects."

"For example, if we make clothes for the people and let them wear clean and tidy clothes, the overall image of the people in Wannian County will immediately improve!"

"There is also the option to improve housing, following the example of the eldest grandson's previous housing renovation plan, and implementing it throughout Wannian County!"

"Furthermore, it can help stabilize grain prices, allowing the people of Wannian County to buy better grain with less money!"

Li Zhi nodded frequently as he listened, while Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang frowned secretly.

Liu Rengui's suggestions sound easy, but in reality, they would cost money at every turn. For example, just making clothes for the people of Wannian County would be a considerable expense.

Where will this money come from?

"Brother Liu, have you ever thought about how much it would cost to make clothes for hundreds of thousands of people?"

Liu Rengui nodded upon hearing this.

“I have considered this matter. We can let the people exchange their old clothes for cloth, and then let them go back and make their own!”

"We can sell the recycled old clothes to people in other counties to recover some of the costs."

"In that case, a total of about one or two hundred thousand strings of cash would be about right."

"One or two hundred thousand strings of cash?"

"This is not a small amount of money!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi was immediately displeased and complained that Changsun Wuji was stingy with money.

"Uncle, you're incredibly wealthy, this amount of money is nothing to you, right?"

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji glared coldly at Li Zhi.

"You shouldn't say things like that!"

"Only your royal family can be richer than a country; we, as your subjects, cannot bear such a reputation!"

"Yes, yes, Uncle is right. Please help me this time. As long as I can surpass Li Jue, I will definitely repay you in the future!"

When Changsun Wuji heard Li Zhi say this, he sighed helplessly.

"well!"

"This isn't about money. His Majesty specifically ordered that the treasuries in Chang'an and Wannian counties be made to be the same size, just to see who can achieve greater political success with the same financial and material resources!"

"If I were to give you money to buy political achievements, wouldn't Li Tai also be able to give Li Jue money to buy political achievements?"

"Moreover, if this matter reaches His Majesty's ears, he will be displeased!"