"This door is so low? You expect me to crawl through it?" Li Shimin asked Qin Mu angrily.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. When I was designing it, I only thought of making the door lower for better defense; I had no other intentions. Your Majesty, why don't you take a look from outside the passage first, and then you can inspect it after the gold and silver are transported up?" Qin Mu said with a wry smile.
The prison was definitely divided into several sections, and each section had a low gate leading to the main passage. Qin Mu had copied this design from a tourist attraction he had seen. To pass through these low gates, one had to stoop. In other words, when exiting, one's head came out first.
This is very convenient for defense. The low gate is narrow, allowing only one person to pass through, and only the head can come out first. It is easy to imagine that this is a perfect place where one man can hold off ten thousand.
Li Shimin could certainly see the advantages of this design, but he felt it was unnecessary. After all, they had been arrested and imprisoned, and there were guards watching over them. How could they possibly escape so easily?
“You! The Six Doors is just a temporary detention center! Is this really necessary?” Li Shimin asked, pointing at Qin Mu and then at the low gate.
"Of course we need it. This is the primary detention facility for criminals. Nobody knows if any important criminals might be arrested here for special reasons, so security must be guaranteed. Just like last time, if someone important is arrested, it will definitely lead to a prison break!"
"If the outside can't hold them off, we can let them in and lock them up inside, waiting for reinforcements!" Qin Mu said seriously.
"Fine! The repairs are already done, I can't just let you tear them down again! Do as you say! Now explain to me the function of each part!" Knowing he couldn't win the argument, Li Shimin raised his hand to stop Qin Mu's long-winded speech.
The interrogation room occupied a large portion of the space, mainly because those imprisoned underground were all serious criminals! There wasn't much to see, really. Qin Mu guessed that Li Shimin only went through it to get a general idea of what the Six Doors (a government agency) actually held.
The gold and silver were stored on the second basement level. Li Shimin glanced around and asked, rather speechless, "With so much stone, wouldn't it be the same to build it above ground? Why bother with a second basement level? Isn't that just a waste of effort?"
Qin Mu thought about it carefully and it seemed that Li Shimin's words made a lot of sense. Since everything was built with stone, and it was built on the ground, it made no difference. Building a stone tower, entering from the top and descending from the bottom, didn't seem to make much of a difference. After all, it was impossible for someone to come with siege equipment to break into the prison!
Upon further reflection, Qin Mu realized he had been completely led by the nose by Li Shimin, thinking entirely along his lines. Building it underground was, of course, for his own reasons. Leaving aside safety concerns, underground construction offered better accessibility and privacy.
"Your Majesty, building it underground isn't as eye-catching as building it above ground. If it were built above ground, it would be a very unusual building to be seen from the outside. Moreover, building it underground makes the foundation more solid; the entire interior of the Six Doors is newly built, and the foundation and drainage system were completed all at once, without much effort," Qin Mu explained.
Seeing that Qin Mu quickly understood, a hint of appreciation flashed in Li Shimin's eyes, but he said calmly, "Hurry up and bring my money up! I'll be waiting upstairs!"
"Your subject obeys the decree!" Qin Mu replied with a cupped hand, though he inwardly scoffed at Li Shimin's claim that the money was his.
Of course! Qin Mu didn't need to lift a finger to move things. The Six Doors had several hundred constables, and together with the Xuanjia Army, they quickly filled the dungeon area with boxes of all sizes.
A large portion of what was handed over consisted of various gold and silver utensils, followed by pearls, agates, and other gemstones. Only one-third remained as gold and silver ingots. Therefore, they took up quite a lot of space.
At first, Li Shimin had people take inventory and make a list, but when there were many boxes, he was dumbfounded. He was dazzled by the sight of all the boxes being opened.
The imperial treasury was divided into the national treasury and the inner treasury. The national treasury stored gold, silver and copper coins, including national tax revenue; the inner treasury contained royal property income and various rare treasures collected and presented as tribute from various regions.
Don't assume that just because an emperor rules the world, he's incredibly wealthy. When the Li Tang dynasty established its rule, it certainly bestowed generous rewards upon its officials; the rewards were substantial. A considerable amount of wealth was distributed. Furthermore, since Emperor Emeritus Li Yuan was still alive, many precious treasures from the imperial treasury were moved to his palace. After all, even if you don't allow him to leave the palace, you still have to let him enjoy himself.
In Li Shimin's view, giving those treasures to Li Yuan to play with was, firstly, an expression of filial piety, and secondly, since those things couldn't be eaten or drunk, they would all be his after Li Yuan passed away.
The expenses of the imperial harem were also high, so Emperor Li Shimin was actually quite poor.
The Imperial Treasury wasn't exactly devoid of money and treasures; they were simply stored in boxes, and were neatly organized. Besides, Li Shimin didn't go in often. If he wanted to admire or play with something, he would simply have his eunuchs bring it to him.
Such a large pile suddenly placed in front of us, illuminated by torches, emitted colorful lights, which was not only very beautiful and visually striking, but also had a great visual impact.
"Seal it up! Transport it back to the palace and count it slowly!" Li Shimin took a deep breath and calmed himself down before giving the order.
Helpless, Qin Mu had someone bring over the seals from the Six Doors and sealed the boxes one by one. Then he watched as Zhai Changsun directed the Xuanjia Army to count and carry them away.
Stimulated by the large sum of money, Li Shimin was clearly excited, and he couldn't hide his smile.
"Why is there still no sign of the shopping mall you built for me after all this time?" Li Shimin asked.
"Your Majesty! The shopping mall has been completed, but most of the commercial street is still under renovation, so it will take a few more days," Qin Mu replied.
"It's fixed already?" Li Shimin asked, his excitement growing. He had only casually brought up the topic earlier to distract himself and avoid getting too excited. He hadn't expected Qin Mu to say something that made him happy again.
It's like winning the lottery; even a very wealthy person would be excited to suddenly receive a large sum of unexpected wealth.
"Yes! The residents of the commercial street have moved into their new homes, and the businesses have also started to move in. Goods are being continuously transported there, and they are just waiting for the commercial street to officially start operating," Qin Mu explained.
"Very good! I must go and see you in a couple of days! I hope you won't disappoint me." Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction.
"I certainly won't disappoint His Majesty. Although the pedestrian street isn't open yet, people passing by all want to go in and have a look. Especially when they see the new houses the people have moved into. Many people are envious and have asked around if they can also have their homes demolished and rebuilt," Qin Mu said confidently.
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