Li Shimin wasn't particularly interested in steam engines. The main reason he stayed in the Hall of Universal Love for so long was that he was waiting for someone.

This person was none other than Li Zhi, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin was very satisfied with Li Zhi's previous performance in disaster relief. He thought that the child would definitely come out to see the disaster victims as soon as he heard that a heavy snow had fallen.

However, after waiting for an hour, he still hadn't seen Li Zhi, which made him very disappointed.

Although Li Shimin had long favored Li Jue, he still hoped that Li Zhi could be a wise and benevolent king who loved his people, rather than a good-for-nothing like Prince Teng, Li Yuanying, who only knew how to live a muddled and aimless life.

However, judging from his current performance, he may not be able to match Li Yuanying in the future.

After all, Li Yuanying's paintings of flowers, birds, fish, and insects are very exquisite, making him a master of his time.

Li Shimin frowned subconsciously when he thought of Li Yuanying.

He disliked the intangible cultural heritage left to him by Li Yuan, but he couldn't kill them all, so he could only feed and care for them and then send them far away to the ends of the earth.

However, this Li Yuanying is truly too much of a troublemaker. Even when he was assigned to a poor place like Shandong, he still managed to scrape the land bare to build the "Tengwang Pavilion." If he were placed in Yangzhou, wouldn't he build an imperial palace?

Thinking of this, Li Shimin then looked at Li Ke, who was standing to the side.

"You've come back just in time. Take some time to visit your twenty-second uncle in the Jingzhao Prefecture prison."

"ah?"

"May I ask, Father, what crime has my uncle committed that you intend to imprison him in the Jingzhao Prefecture?"

Li Shimin snorted coldly upon hearing this.

"Hmph!"

"It wasn't me who locked him up; it was your nephew who did it!"

"However, Li Yuanying did indeed have a way of courting death. He actually dared to ride his horse recklessly in Chang'an City, almost killing someone!"

"If it weren't for the fact that Doctor Sun happened to be in Chang'an, it probably wouldn't have been a matter of just a few days!"

"Oh oh oh..."

"Your subject will return to the palace first and change his clothes before going."

Li Shimin nodded upon hearing this, which was considered as agreeing to Li Ke's request.

After all, Li Yuanying isn't a big deal; whether it's a day earlier or a day later doesn't matter much.

"Father, what should I say when I see my twenty-second uncle?"

"First, see if he shows any remorse. If not, keep him locked up!"

"oh!"

In fact, Li Shimin had never figured out how to deal with Li Yuanying, since he couldn't just kill him outright.

Outside the Prince of Qin's residence.

Li Zhi rushed over and, seeing that all the disaster victims had been properly resettled, couldn't help but show a look of disappointment on his face.

"Your Highness, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and go to His Majesty to apologize!"

Under Liu Rengui's repeated urging, Li Zhi finally inquired about the emperor's location and then went to Li Shimin to apologize.

"Father, I deserve to die!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin, who was standing inside the main hall, snorted coldly.

"What crime have you committed?"

"Your subject... Your subject did not expect such a heavy snowfall, which almost caused the people to freeze to death under the snow!"

"snort!"

"The disaster victims have been in Chang'an for several days. Even if it doesn't snow heavily, is it warmer outside the city than inside?"

"this……"

"Your subject knows his crime!"

"I beg Your Majesty to punish him severely!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin sighed inwardly.

"Fine, I won't punish you. You can take the six guards of the Eastern Palace to the mountains to cut wood and make charcoal to supply the capital."

"ah?"

Li Zhi was stunned when he heard this. He had heard that the snowfall was very heavy and the roads into the mountains were completely covered by snow, making it impossible to go into the mountains to cut firewood.

Li Shimin didn't care how difficult it was. As the emperor, he only needed to issue orders, and how they were implemented depended on the performance of his subordinates.

Li Zhi hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily.

"Your subject obeys!"

After Li Zhi left, Li Shimin quickly returned to Taiji Palace and issued several orders in succession.

Article 1: An imperial edict ordered that all vacant government offices, unused warehouses, and empty residences of dukes and marquises outside the city be opened to accommodate disaster victims.

Article Two: Reduce the supply of firewood and charcoal in the palace and prioritize the supply of firewood and charcoal to the people in the city.

Although Li Shimin was unwilling to believe it, his Chang'an was indeed being strangled by firewood.

"Zhang Anan, when I was in the Prince of Qin's residence, I saw that the people were burning coal. May we allow the people in the city to burn coal as well?"

Zhang Anan shook his head upon hearing this.

"Disaster!"

"The eldest grandson has promoted this matter several times, and even dragged the servants into it, but the people in the city would rather freeze than burn coal."

"You also bought another share?"

Zhang Anan smiled bitterly upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty, this is truly not my fault!"

"The eldest grandson raved about his honeycomb briquettes, saying that they would be popular with the people as soon as they hit the market. But after promoting them for several months, the people still refused to buy them."

"If such a wonderful thing really exists, why doesn't the palace use it?"

"I've practically slack off my entire savings for this honeycomb briquette workshop! Waaaaah..."

"this……"

Li Shimin was speechless after listening to Zhang Anan's account.

Zhang Anan usually seems like a smart person, how could he be fooled by that grandson Li Jue?

However, he soon realized something was wrong.

"etc!"

What did you just say?

"This servant said that she lost all her savings, even her coffin money, to build the honeycomb briquette workshop!"

"No, the previous sentence!"

"The previous sentence..."

"Oh, oh, oh, the common people say that if such a wonderful thing really existed, the imperial palace would have used it long ago, so how could it be their turn!"

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