Upon hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This grandson is thinking about the future, could it be that he's thinking about how to rebel?"
I just beat him up a few days ago, and I really don't have the strength to beat him up again. I can only secretly make a mental note of him and deal with him when I've accumulated enough!
"Take a look at this memorial!"
"ah?"
Li Jue took the memorial that Li Er threw to him with a blank expression, then opened it woodenly. He saw that it was a memorial reporting the corruption of the magistrate of Chang'an County, and his face immediately turned pale with fright.
"Your Majesty, you must send someone to investigate this matter thoroughly. You can't just beat me up for no reason!"
Li Shimin looked at the terrified Li Jue and spoke with unusual gentleness.
"Don't be afraid, I don't intend to beat you, I'm just asking how you plan to handle this matter."
"Ask me?"
"Yes!"
"Li Yifu was someone you recommended. Now someone has reported him for corruption. You have to think of something for me!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue glanced at Li Shimin in surprise. Seeing that Li Shimin was not testing him, he immediately mustered his courage and spoke.
"His Majesty……"
"What did you call me?"
“Grandpa…”
"Grandson thinks this matter should be handled with caution. It would be best if Grandfather had the Hundred Cavalry Division secretly investigate to see if Li Yifu really had any corrupt practices before making a decision."
"Furthermore, what Li Yifu is doing now must have affected the interests of many people. It is normal for some people to dislike him and want to cause him some trouble."
"oh?"
"You mean the renovation plan for Chang'an City?"
"Yes, yes, I didn't expect Grandpa already knew!"
Li Shimin snorted coldly upon hearing this.
"What don't I know?"
"Tell me, how exactly do you plan to renovate Chang'an!"
“My grandson thinks this way: Chang’an has been in disrepair for many years. Only the city walls are still relatively sturdy. Most of the streets and lanes inside the city are old and the stone slabs are broken. The ditches are also full of garbage, and many rivers are foul-smelling.”
"This not only affects the drinking water of the city's residents, but also has a detrimental impact on the ecology and natural environment."
"Therefore, my grandson plans to first dredge the river, then repair the damaged road surface, and then build water supply and drainage pipes so that domestic wastewater and rainwater can be separated, thus protecting Chang'an's environment to the greatest extent possible..."
Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this. These were things that the court should have done, but he had not been able to spare the time and resources to do them over the years.
If Li Jue could do this for him, it would not only be a great service to the court, but also a blessing for the people of Chang'an, and would earn him a lot of fame.
"It must cost a lot of money to do this, right?"
"Um……"
"The Ministry of Revenue said they had no money and told us to find a way ourselves..."
"No money?"
"That's impossible! I see over a million strings of cash in the Ministry of Revenue's accounts!"
Li Jue curled his lip upon hearing this.
"They said all this money is saved for you to fight Goguryeo, and there's no extra money for us to renovate Chang'an!"
"If I weren't so desperate for money to do things, I wouldn't have bothered buying up residential houses and getting involved in urban village redevelopment..."
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin looked at Li Jue with a puzzled expression.
"You mean you're buying up people's houses because you don't have money to do anything?"
"Yes!"
"What kind of logic is this?"
"Aren't you short of money? Why do you have money to buy houses?"
"Grandpa, your grandson is buying houses to make money!"
"As long as the grandson demolishes the old house and builds a new one, won't he be able to sell it for money?"
Li Shimin asked, puzzled.
"How much money can you make from this?"
Li Jue smiled slightly upon hearing this.
“You can’t earn much from just one house, maybe a few hundred strings of cash at most, but what about thousands or tens of thousands of houses?”
"What?"
"You're going to buy so many houses?"
"certainly!"
Where did you get so much money?
"Who says buying a house necessarily costs money!"
Li Shimin was stunned upon hearing this, and then slammed his fist on the table with a "bang".
"How dare you!"
"If you dare to engage in forced buying and selling, I will break your legs!"
Li Jue was startled by Li Shimin, but when he heard Li Shimin's threatening words, he immediately knew that the old man had misunderstood again.
"Grandpa, you've misunderstood me. I never said I wanted to force you to buy or sell!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately glared with his dragon eyes.
"You just said that buying a house doesn't cost any money. Isn't that just forced buying and selling?"
"Grandpa, is this what you're talking about? Actually, this isn't forced buying or selling; it's a collaboration between me and the people..."
"cooperate?"
"When we return to Chang'an, your grandson will personally take you to see it for yourself!"
"You really didn't force me to buy or sell?"
"Really!"
"If my grandson tries to force me to buy or sell, I won't even need to lift a finger. I'll hang myself from a tree so you can beat me!"
When Li Shimin heard Li Jue say this, he immediately believed him to some extent. This grandson was most afraid of being beaten, so for him to say such a thing, it seemed he was quite confident.
"good!"
"I'll trust you for now. After we finish paying respects to your grandmother, we'll return to Chang'an!"
After discussing the matter with Li Jue, Li Shimin reviewed several memorials. However, once the carriage entered the Jiuzong Mountain area, he stopped reviewing the memorials, and his mood became somewhat depressed.
When Li Jue saw Li Shimin like this, he was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe loudly, for fear of angering the old man and getting beaten up for no reason.
Li Shimin did not go directly to pay respects to his deceased wife that day, but stayed overnight in the ancestral hall on the mountain. The next day, after burning incense and fasting, bathing and changing clothes, he led Li Zhi, Si Zi, and Li Jue into the cave where Empress Zhangsun's coffin was temporarily placed, and burned incense and paid respects at the entrance of the cave.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
