Chapter 518 Jiangzhou
The next day, early in the morning.
The emperor's carriage arrived at the ferry of the Grand Canal, boarded the boat to Jiangnan, and went south along the river.
Li Jue watched the boat leave the port and planned to return with the ministers.
"Your Highness! Your Majesty's tour of Jiangnan this time, I think you should notify the local officials in Jiangnan to welcome the emperor at any time. Please inform the local officials along the way of your Majesty's itinerary." An official of the Eastern Palace said.
"Your Majesty ordered before leaving that his whereabouts should not be disclosed at will. If I notify the local officials to receive the carriage, wouldn't it be a violation of your Majesty's will." Li Jue said.
"How can your Highness say that? Wherever your Majesty goes, local officials and people come to greet you. It is an honor for the local area and can also show the majesty of the royal family. Your Majesty will definitely appreciate your filial piety." The official of the Eastern Palace said.
"We will discuss this matter after returning to the palace!" Li Jue said, turned around and got on the carriage to go back.
A few days later, the emperor's fleet landed in Jiangxia, on the north bank of the Yangtze River. The officials of Jiangzhou, who had already received the news, knelt on the shore to welcome the emperor.
Li Chengqian's first stop on his trip to the south of the Yangtze River was Jiangzhou.
"I, the governor of Jiangzhou, bring the officials of Jiangzhou, big and small, and the people of Jiangzhou to welcome your Majesty to Jiangzhou." When Li Chengqian got ashore, the governor
of Jiangzhou took the lead in kneeling. The officials, soldiers, and people of Jiangzhou also knelt down to pay homage.
"Stand up!" Li Chengqian said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The governor of Jiangzhou stood up and said, "Your Majesty! I have ordered people to pack up the temporary palace. Please move your majesty to the temporary palace in Jiangzhou."
"When did Jiangzhou have a temporary palace? Why didn't I know about it?" Li Chengqian asked.
The Tang Dynasty did not build a temporary palace in Jiangzhou and other places. After all, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty did not like to go to the south of the Yangtze River for no reason.
Naturally, he would not spend a lot of money, material resources and manpower to build a temporary palace.
"Your Majesty! The palace in Jiangzhou was first built during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It was the palace of the emperor of Southern Liang and later became the palace of Nanchen. During the Sui Dynasty, Nanchen was destroyed and the world was unified."
"However, there were many troubles in the south and rebellions were continuous. Emperor Yang of Sui was still the Prince of Jin at that time, so Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, sent Yang Guang to suppress and pacify Jiangnan." "
The originally abandoned palace was renovated and became the palace of Emperor Yang of Sui in the south. Although Emperor Yang of Sui did not come many times, the palace remained the same."
"After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the court did not destroy the palace, and it still maintained the original appearance of the Sui Dynasty palace." said the governor of Jiangzhou.
The first two emperors of the Tang Dynasty had never been to Jiangzhou, so the palace here was forgotten. If Li Chengqian hadn't come, the local officials might not have thought of this palace, let alone Li Chengqian who was far away in Chang'an.
"Is that so? Then get ready!" Li Chengqian said.
"Get up!" Wang Quan shouted.
"Why is the palace here so shabby? I'm afraid it hasn't been repaired for many years!" Li Chengqian asked after moving into the palace.
Although the palace was old and not luxurious, it was clean and tidy, and it was quite simple.
"Your Majesty! This palace was originally a palace of the Southern Dynasty. Emperor Yang of Sui renovated it many times during the Sui Dynasty."
"In our Tang Dynasty, it was renovated once during the reign of the previous emperor, so it is normal that it is a little dilapidated." The governor of Jiangzhou said.
"Don't you Jiangzhou plan to renovate the palace properly? You won't let it become so dilapidated. People who know it say it is the emperor's palace."
"People who don't know it think it is a dilapidated temple in your southern part. I'm afraid there is not even an ascetic monk or wandering Taoist priest hanging up a sign!" Li Chengqian said.
"I have failed in my duty and I deserve death. I have petitioned the court many times to repair this palace, but the court has rejected my petitions many times."
"Jiangzhou is not as rich as Yangzhou. Even if I want to repair the palace, I am powerless! Please judge for me, Your Majesty." The governor of Jiangzhou said with a tearful face.
Jiangzhou is short of resources and is not as rich as Yangzhou. The court is unwilling to allocate funds to Jiangzhou to repair the palace. After all, the emperor has never been to Jiangzhou, let alone live in a palace!
The court will naturally not waste a lot of money to repair a palace, so the palace in Jiangzhou is so dilapidated.
Even though there is no money to repair it, it is already very good that it can accommodate people! You really can't expect too much.
"How dare you! As a minister of the Tang Dynasty, you don't think about repaying the emperor's grace and sharing the worries of His Majesty! Instead, you are here to shirk your responsibility. You are really brave." Wang Quan scolded. "
Your Majesty, you are wise! Jiangzhou is short of resources. Our Jiangzhou Prefecture really can't afford to repair the palace. We can't force the people of Jiangzhou to pay for the repair of this palace." The governor of Jiangzhou retorted.
"You..." Wang Quan was angry and pointed at the governor of Jiangzhou and said something.
"Okay! Stop talking, the governor of Jiangzhou did nothing wrong! Why blame him? But the palace is related to the reputation of the court after all."
"It is really unacceptable to be so dilapidated. Pass on my decree and let the court allocate a sum of money for repairing the palace." Li Chengqian said.
"Yes!" Wang Quan replied.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The governor of Jiangzhou hurriedly thanked him, but in his heart he was thinking about how to take part of the money from the court after it was allocated and take the opportunity to make some money.
"You just said that Jiangzhou is short of goods. What's going on?" Li Chengqian asked.
Why is Jiangzhou short of goods? Let's not talk about anything else, just say that Lushan Yunwu Tea, one of the ten famous teas, is quite good!
"Your Majesty, you don't know that Jiangzhou is backed by the Yangtze River, and other places are backed by mountains, and the roads are rugged. It is too costly to transport the goods of Jiangzhou out. Even if there are good goods, they can't be sold at a good price."
"Many merchants are unwilling to do business in Jiangzhou, not to mention that there are many temples in the mountains, especially Lushan in the south of Jiangzhou, which is one of the holy places of Buddhism." Jiangzhou Governor said.
Since he took office, he did want to develop Jiangzhou well and lead the people of Jiangzhou to make a fortune. After he arrived in Jiangzhou, he found that his original wish was just a fool's dream.
"Jiangzhou is backed by the Yangtze River to the north and has abundant aquatic products. It is backed by Lushan Mountain to the south and has abundant products in the mountains. As long as you develop well, you can make Jiangzhou prosperous. However, you have not made any achievements since you took office."
"The roads in the mountains are rugged and uneven. Can't you lead everyone to open up the roads and get all the products in the mountains out?"
"Jiangzhou is backed by the Yangtze River to the north and has abundant aquatic products. We can definitely catch aquatic products and sell them to other places by taking advantage of the convenient waterways of the Yangtze River."
"If the products cannot be sold in the areas along the river, can't they be sold to places farther away? If you had done your best, you wouldn't have let Jiangzhou become like this. You have a mountain of treasure but don't know how to use it." Li Chengqian criticized.
If you want to get rich, you should build roads first. This principle is applicable in any era. However, the governor of Jiangzhou didn't know how to apply it. Li Chengqian was a little disappointed with him.