Li Shimin had been there for a while, but he was so engrossed in listening to Liu Rengui's analysis of the Sui Dynasty's corrupt practices that he had remained hidden in a corner.

However, before he could even get his fill of listening, Liu Rengui shamelessly began to talk about his reign of Zhenguan!

"Liu Rengui, how dare you slander my reign of Zhenguan?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Rengui showed no fear whatsoever; instead, he calmly retorted.

"Your Majesty, please be careful with your words!"

"Be careful what you say?"

"Have I said something wrong?"

"Your Majesty is certainly wrong!"

"The reign of Zhenguan was not only the achievement of Your Majesty alone, but also the achievement of all the people and officials of the Tang Dynasty!"

"oh……"

Li Shimin's face darkened upon hearing this, but after a while, he smiled broadly.

"He's starting to resemble Wei Zheng, hahaha!"

"Tell me, how do I deal with the local militia so that we don't end up with hundreds of thousands of high-ranking generals?"

Li Shimin wasn't angry to begin with. After all, he knew the problems under the Zhenguan era better than anyone else. Now that he had finally encountered an official who dared to speak the truth, how could he punish him?

He overestimated Liu Rengui, and Liu Rengui had no answer either.

"Your Majesty, I am of limited knowledge and ability and cannot think of a solution. Perhaps you should summon your ministers and brainstorm a solution?"

"I see!"

Li Shimin was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, thinking that he would never encounter a talent like Wei Zheng again.

"You shall continue to assist the Crown Prince!"

"You've been doing very well lately, and I've seen it all. I'll assign you an important task in a few days!"

"Your Majesty, I thank you!"

Li Shimin offered a few more words of encouragement to Li Zhi, praising his achievements during this period, before returning to Taiji Palace with his hands behind his back.

He stopped abruptly just as he reached the entrance of Taiji Palace.

"What has Li Jue been busy with lately?"

"Your Majesty, the eldest grandson has been staying at the Prince of Qin's residence recently, reportedly to be building a machine that can spin yarn!"

"organ?"

"This child is really a worry. I originally thought he would outdo Zhinu, but I never expected that Zhinu would outdo him."

"Have Zhang Gui pass on a message to that bastard: if he doesn't do anything right, don't blame me for not giving him a chance!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Anan's heart skipped a beat. His Majesty was angry!

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This old servant will go and deliver the message immediately!"

Li Shimin watched Zhang Anan's hurried departure and a playful smile appeared on his face.

Li Jue and Li Zhi, this uncle and nephew pair, must have had one as the knife and the other as the whetstone.

As for who will ultimately be the knife and who will be the whetstone, that depends on their performance!

After inspecting Wannian County, Li Shimin put the matter aside until a month later when he suddenly took his men for a stroll in Chang'an.

Li Shimin made very thorough preparations this time, bringing not only Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, Gao Shilian, Li Jing, Yuchi Jingde and others, but also several concubines to accompany him shopping and having fun in Chang'an.

"Auxiliary machine, where do you think we should start today?"

Changsun Wuji smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"Let's keep it at ten thousand years. After all, His Majesty visited it a month ago, so let's see how different it is from before!"

"good!"

Li Shimin led his entourage back to Wannian County. They found the roads clean and tidy, and the houses on both sides of the road brand new. In particular, the pedestrians on the road were all dressed in clean clothes, without a single patch on their clothes.

"good!"

"This is the grandeur that our Great Tang Dynasty should have!"

Upon hearing His Majesty's words, Changsun Wuji immediately dragged Li Zhi to the front.

"Your Majesty, this is all thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince's excellent governance!"

Li Shimin looked at the somewhat reserved Li Zhi and said with a smile.

"Childhood slave has put in a lot of effort!"

"Father...Father, I have only learned a little bit. Wannian County is what it is today thanks to you and my uncle. If it weren't for the Zhenguan era you established, even if I had more money and grain, I would not have been able to make Wannian County a place where doors can be left unlocked at night!"

Li Shimin was even happier to hear this. This child has grown up. He not only knows how to be filial to him, but also how to flatter him and his uncle!

"Excellent, I am very satisfied!"

After praising Li Zhi, Li Shimin looked at the group of concubines behind him.

"What do you think of His Highness the Crown Prince's governance of Wannian County? Does it present a prosperous and peaceful scene?"

"Your Majesty, this is more than just a golden age; it's practically a paradise!"

"Your Majesty, I congratulate you! It is a blessing for the nation, the people, and the country to have such an outstanding crown prince!"

Li Shimin smiled and looked at Wu Meiniang, then turned his gaze to Xu Hui.

"Xu Hui, what do you think?"

Xu Hui smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"I also think it's good, but it lacks a bit of the warmth of everyday life."

"The atmosphere of everyday life?"

"Yes!"

"Your Majesty, it is nearly noon, and every household should be preparing lunch, but look at the chimneys around here, there is hardly any smoke coming out!"

"Huh!"

Li Shimin only realized something was wrong after Xu Hui reminded him: why weren't the chimneys of the surrounding people emitting smoke?

"Child, what's going on?"

Li Zhi was stunned when he heard this; he never expected such a big mistake to occur.

You should know that he had made thorough preparations for this day long ago, and even drove the beggars and hooligans of Wannian County out of the city.

However, he forgot the most important thing: the problem of feeding the people of Wannian County!

"Father, your son...your son doesn't know either!"

"However, I dare to swear to Heaven that I have already provided them with food, and they would never stop cooking because of a lack of food!"

Li Shimin frowned slightly upon hearing this. He did not believe that Li Zhi would dare to lie to him, but it was mealtime and no one was cooking. This was a huge problem!

"Liu Rengui, do you know the reason for this place?"

Liu Rengui has been helping Li Zhi govern Wannian County these days, and it can be said that there is nothing about the county, big or small, that he does not know.

But when Li Shimin asked about this, he was completely baffled.

"Your Majesty, I am foolish and cannot understand the reason for this matter."

"But I dare to guarantee with my life that what Your Highness said is true. The people here are definitely not starving and therefore not cooking!"

Just as Liu Rengui was trying to clear his name, Yuchi Jingde, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore.

"Your Majesty, why don't we just go into any house and ask?"

Li Shimin glared at Yuchi Jingde, thinking to himself, "How could I not think of such a simple method? I just wanted to test Li Zhi!"

But since this guy has spoken, there's no need for me to test him anymore. I'll just go to the people's homes and search for the answer by lifting the pots.

"good!"

"Let's go and visit the people's homes!"

"If what you and Liu Rengui say is true, I will certainly reward you handsomely!"

"But if you try to cover up the truth, I will not show any mercy!"