"Huh! How did I fall asleep just now!" Yuchi Baolin shook his head and said.
“I told you we’re not suited for studying! We can fall asleep just listening to this!” Cheng Huaimo said, stretching out his thick legs and standing up from the ground.
Cheng Zhijie, who was standing at the door, had a smile on his face when he saw them wake up. But upon hearing his son's words, he became so angry that his chest heaved, and he roared, "You unfilial son! You are indeed hopeless!"
"Ah!" Cheng Huaimo looked up at the doorway, still bewildered as to why his father was there, and blinked blankly.
Yuchi Gong was much more straightforward. He followed them into the house and then kicked them out.
With a "thud," Yuchi Baolin fell to the ground. He then rubbed his hip and looked at his father with a pained expression.
Yuchi Baoqing and Cheng Huailiang were much smarter. When they saw his father, they were like mice seeing a cat, and they quickly hid to the side.
"Hehe! Don't you feel anything at all?" Princess Changning opened her eyes and asked with a smile.
"I seem to remember it! The thirteen chapters of 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu: Planning, Combat, and Strategic Offense... Wow! I really remember it clearly!" Cheng Huaimo exclaimed with delight.
"Haha! Haha! From now on, if anyone says they don't remember a certain book, I'll slap them!" Yuchi Baolin laughed loudly as he sat on the ground.
"You really remember?" Yuchi Gong asked curiously.
"It's not surprising that you remember it now. If you want to remember it forever, take some time every day to recite it!" Qin Mu said with a smile.
"Huai Dao, was that brat reciting Sun Tzu's Art of War just now?" Cheng Zhijie asked.
"Yes, I don't know if all thirteen chapters of Sun Tzu's Art of War are complete!" Qin Mu nodded.
"Hehe! The Cheng family has a tradition of military strategy!" Cheng Zhijie grinned.
There are copies of Sun Tzu's Art of War circulating in the market, but they usually only contain one or two chapters. Qin Mu said there are thirteen chapters, which is not much different from the complete version. Military strategy, no matter which family it falls into, is something they will never pass on to outsiders. For large families, those who are not direct descendants are simply not qualified to read it.
“Write this down for me when you get back, so I don’t forget!” Yuchi Gong walked over and slapped his son on the back of the head.
Yu Chi Baolin's smile vanished again, replaced by a pained expression as he rubbed his head.
"Uncle Cheng, how long have we been sitting?" Xiangli Yanran asked, tilting her head up.
“Two hours!” Cheng Zhijie replied.
"Ah! Two hours? It actually took that long? Why do I feel like there's something else besides Sun Tzu's Art of War?" Princess Changning said in surprise.
"You only remember Sun Tzu's Art of War?" Qin Mu frowned, asking in surprise. He was quite certain that he had recited the Song of Righteousness in the same way!
"Brother Qin, have you taught anyone else?" Xiangli Yanran asked thoughtfully. Then, she covered her mouth in surprise and said, "I've reached the intermediate level of Ink General!"
The Mohist school's cultivation levels are divided into Mohists, Mohists, Mohist Generals, Mohist Masters, Mohist Sect Leaders, and Grand Masters. Originally, there was only one Grand Master, but after the Mohist school split into several branches, the Grand Master became a symbol of top-tier experts. Xiangli Yanran was originally only a beginner Mohist General, and although she was close to advancing to the intermediate level, it would still take some time. Tonight, she suddenly advanced to the intermediate level, and her condition was stable, which is why she was surprised.
"Hey! My strength has increased a bit too! I didn't even notice until you told me!" Cheng Huaimo said, stretching his arms.
"Alas! What a pity!" Cheng Zhijie sighed.
"Old man, do you know why?" Cheng Huaimo asked curiously.
"It must have been Huai Dao who attracted a lot of spiritual energy just now, but since you are all martial arts cultivators, you didn't benefit much! On the contrary, Xiangli girl benefited quite a bit," Cheng Zhijie explained.
"I don't know what happened either!" Qin Mu shook his head. He knew it was related to the Song of Righteousness, but he didn't understand why it was like this.
"There are many possibilities in this situation, and I'm not entirely sure myself! Just keep an eye on it yourself! Anyway, it's not a bad thing." Cheng Zhijie didn't want to pry into Qin Mu's secrets and shook his head slightly.
"Okay, Uncle Cheng."
"Okay, that's enough for today. Let's try again tomorrow!" Cheng Zhijie stretched and said.
“Tomorrow won’t work. After all, Brother Cheng and the others don’t like studying. They’ve learned so much today, they need to calm down and think about it so they can truly internalize it,” Qin Mu said, shaking his head.
"That's good enough. Anyway, for those few fools, a book on military strategy is enough to benefit them for a lifetime," Cheng Zhijie nodded slightly.
"It's getting late, and we have things to do tomorrow, so everyone should get some rest!" Qin Mu agreed.
"Alright! Time to go!" Cheng Zhijie said, then turned and went downstairs. As for the curfew, it was as good as nothing to them.
After seeing everyone off, Qin Mu began planning the commercial street and shopping mall. He not only had to draw renderings but also prepare planning documents. Fortunately, he had ready-made examples in his mind for these tasks, requiring only minor modifications.
As for the location, he had already decided on Buzhengfang. He had been spending a lot of time there recently and knew that many poor people lived there. Despite its proximity to the capital and the fact that it used to house many high-ranking officials and nobles, it had long since fallen into disrepair. The reason for this was precisely because many of these officials and nobles had died during the previous dynasty. Therefore, rumors circulated that the place had bad feng shui.
With the Azure Dragon on the left and the White Tiger on the right, the Buzhengfang is located on the right side of the Imperial City. There are rumors that this is the White Tiger's inauspicious position, and it is not good to live here for a long time!
Qin Mu planned to build the complex in the style of a park with a commercial street and residential buildings. Snack shops would be located at the front of the street, while residential buildings would be at the back, with a shopping mall in the very center, surrounded by a park.
A beautiful picture slowly emerges from Qin Mu's brush: a three-story building, nearby rockeries and pavilions, and numerous trees, just like a garden.
Qin Mu also designed the residential buildings for the residents to be three-story buildings, with one entrance and one exit. Each floor has a large hall and a room, and there are courtyards at the front and back of the first floor. The front can be used to raise poultry and livestock such as chickens and ducks; the back is for the kitchen and toilet. The neat rows of residential buildings, with the central courtyard outside, make the entire residential complex a community. In this way, the security within the community is also raised to a higher level.
Frankly speaking, the places where ordinary people live nowadays are definitely larger in terms of land area than apartment buildings. However, apartment buildings are better than most houses, since they are entirely constructed of brick and stone. Adjacent households share a wall, which makes the buildings compact and easier to construct.
Qin Mu had calculated that, according to his plan, the same land could not only be used to resettle the people without harming their interests in the slightest, but also allow them to move into new apartment buildings. The vacated space could be used to build thirty snack shops, plus a shopping mall and a park.
Qin Mu had worked hard all night and hadn't closed his eyes yet when Cheng Zhijie's seemingly honest face appeared before him again.
Knowing why he came, Qin Mu handed him the planning documents and other materials related to his talent.
Without saying a word, Cheng Zhijie took it and left, taking two pancakes from the back kitchen as he went.
Qin Mu's plan soon reached Li Shimin's desk. The imperial study had changed, mainly because the chairs had been replaced with desks and chairs with armrests.
Li Shimin took a large stack of Xuan paper from the eunuch, leaned back, making a deep dent in the soft cushion, and said with a comfortable expression, "What is this?"
"Your Majesty, please take a look first, and then I will explain it to you!" Cheng Zhijie replied.
He didn't explain anything at all; he was just repeating Qin Mu's words.
"I knew it wasn't your foolish idea; it was Qin's idea!" Li Shimin said with a laugh and a scolding tone. Cheng Zhijie had answered all his questions earlier, so it would have been better to read it himself. Fortunately, Qin Mu had written it in great detail.
After reading it, Li Shimin pondered for a while, then looked at it again before asking, "The Qin family boy's design is indeed excellent! But can he guarantee that it won't harm the interests of the people? Where will he get so much money to build such a large place?"
"The restaurant has already started making money and can come up with 300,000 strings of cash; Old Man Yuchi has also put up 300,000 strings of cash; I've brought out all my savings this time."
"What! Jingde actually took out 300,000 strings of cash?" Li Shimin asked in shock.
"yes!"
Li Shimin's eyes darted around. He had been wondering if this shopping mall was a gift from Cheng Zhijie and others, since they had bought a large plot of land. Like the shopping mall, the food street earned rent; it wouldn't recoup its investment quickly, but it was a long-term source of income—that was Li Shimin's thought.
Now I hear that Yuchi Gong is willing to put up hundreds of thousands of strings of cash, and Cheng Zhijie is putting up even more. As for all their wealth, just take that nonsense with a grain of salt. But it does show that there's a lot of profit to be made. Of course! Li Shimin would never have imagined that Yuchi Gong's investment was purely for the purpose of buying land, which he believed was a business that could be passed down and wouldn't depreciate or result in a loss.
Having just presented me with a large shopping mall as a gift, I felt embarrassed to ask for more. Li Shimin's eyes darted around, and then he perked up and said, "My dear minister, you just said that you want to allocate some of the delicacies from Ruguilou as products for the new store?"
"Yes...yes!" Upon hearing Li Shimin address him as "my beloved minister," Cheng Zhijie couldn't help but twitch his lips, a sense of foreboding rising within him. Having served the emperor for many years, he knew perfectly well that Li Shimin would only be all smiles when he was plotting against him.
"Ahem! My dear minister, as you know, the Tang Dynasty has only been established for a short time, and the national treasury is empty. The imperial treasury also doesn't have much money. The Empress has to rack her brains every month to cover the expenses of the harem. Sometimes, she even has to go through a month or two of delays!"
"As the empress of a great nation, I don't even have many new clothes. I am truly ashamed!" Li Shimin coughed twice and said. At first, he sounded a little embarrassed, but later he was genuinely complaining.
"Such a thing is true! Your Majesty, I will return home immediately and present you with a batch of furs to make winter clothes! I will ensure that Your Majesty has new clothes to wear this winter!" Cheng Zhijie said with surprise, bowing his hands.
Looking at Cheng Zhijie's exaggerated acting, Li Shimin didn't know how to respond. Although the harem was indeed poor, it wasn't as bad as a few sets of clothes. After all, the royal family still had its own assets.
"Hmph! I thank you on behalf of the Empress for your kindness, but this is not a long-term solution! I wonder if you have any ideas to help me share this burden?" Fortunately, Li Shimin was already used to this group of shameless people. He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and forced a smile.
"I cannot make the decision on this matter; it depends on Qin Huaidao's intentions, since he was the one who planned it." Seeing that Li Shimin was determined to get involved, Cheng Zhijie could only smile bitterly.
Li Shimin knew that he had already agreed, but the exact amount to be distributed still needed to be discussed. So he smiled with satisfaction and said, "Young Qin is much more generous than you old fogies. I am very satisfied with this business."
“Your Majesty’s judgment is accurate, far surpassing my own. Huai Dao is indeed generous to his family. He gave away half of the hundreds of thousands of strings of cash that Gui Lou had invested. Most people wouldn’t do that,” Cheng Zhijie agreed.
"I heard that young Qin taught dozens of illiterate people to read and write in just ten days!" Li Shimin asked. Although he hadn't paid special attention to what was happening at the Six Doors, he was still fully aware of the situation.
"It's all hearsay. It's just that Huai Dao used a method to make them memorize a book in a short time. It's not very useful, similar to a novice, and it has side effects. It takes a long time before it can be used again."
"Another crucial point is that whether they can apply what they learn depends on their individual talent," Cheng Zhijie explained, having already learned these things from his son.
"I know! A rare and excellent article, it perfectly captures the essence of human nature and worldly wisdom. No wonder the Guigu lineage is so insightful," Li Shimin exclaimed. The *Zeng Guang Xian Wen* was currently on his desk. After reading it, he had been wondering if he had underestimated the legacy of Guiguzi. However, asking for it now seemed inappropriate, as it was someone else's legacy.
“Your Majesty, Huai Dao has no ulterior motives. He is just too young to understand the value of the secret manual, which is why it was leaked. I will remind him.” Cheng Zhijie’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly explained.
"I have no intention of blaming him. On the contrary, I admire his magnanimity. All along, each family has valued its own traditions and kept them secret, which has prevented many talented people from having the opportunity to learn. I am considering whether to arrange for more people to study under Qin Huaidao, so that we can cultivate more talents." Li Shimin waved his hand slightly and said.
Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin) highly valued the *Zeng Guang Xian Wen* (Expanded Collection of Wise Sayings). After reading it, he was deeply impressed, believing it to be the work of a wise man who had seen through the vicissitudes of life, revealing the true nature of human nature and relationships with great insight. Although it contained some pessimistic elements, its merits outweighed its flaws; the text advocated doing good deeds and cultivating a kind and generous heart, which are worthy of emulation.
"Hehe! Huai Dao has used an even better method to teach my sons Sun Tzu's Art of War." Cheng Zhijie, unaware of the Zeng Guang Xian Wen (a collection of proverbs), thought Li Shimin simply admired Qin Mu's magnanimity and couldn't help but boast.
"What! Sun Tzu's Art of War? Can Cheng Huaimo and the others even learn it?" Li Shimin knew about Sun Tzu's Art of War; the imperial library had a complete set of bamboo slips preserved there. However, he found it somewhat amusing that Qin Mu was teaching Cheng Huaimo and the others. Everyone in Chang'an knew those guys could fall asleep in class and had received countless beatings with a ruler since they were children!
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