Li Jue and Liu Rengui, engrossed in their conversation, were completely unaware that it was Li Er who had spoken to them, and continued talking to themselves.
"Forcing a good woman into prostitution?"
"unnecessary!"
"Our Tang emperor is so wise, why not just arrest more corrupt officials and confiscate their families and send them to the brothels?"
Li Shimin felt that these words were being mocked.
So it turns out I was the biggest pimp?
Li Shimin could no longer hold back and kicked Li Jue.
"What nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever confiscate the families of officials and send them to the Imperial Music Bureau?"
Upon hearing His Majesty's voice, Liu Rengui was so frightened that he quickly knelt down to the side. Li Jue, realizing something was amiss, chuckled and stood up from the threshold.
"Grandpa, have you finished eating?"
Li Shimin snorted coldly upon hearing this, and then patiently explained.
"Since I ascended the throne, I have never confiscated the property of officials' families. Many of the people in the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) are family members of officials who committed crimes during the Sui and Wude periods, as well as children and descendants who have been engaged in lowly professions for generations."
As soon as Li Shimin said this, Fang Xuanling immediately jumped out to testify.
"Your Majesty, I can vouch for you. Your Majesty's governance is primarily based on benevolence and virtue. Even those who commit heinous crimes will only be punished as ringleaders, and their families will not be implicated."
"Even someone as heinous as Hou Junji only had his family exiled to Lingnan; the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution) had nothing to do with them!"
"Oh oh oh..."
Li Jue was a little confused by the way the two were trying so hard to explain. He had only said it jokingly, so why were they so nervous?
Little did he know that Li Shimin feared his beloved grandson would misunderstand him and see him as a tyrant.
That's why he was so sensitive when Li Jue mentioned the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution).
Once Li Shimin saw that the explanation was clear, he immediately kicked Li Jue.
"Tomorrow you either go to the palace to study, or you go to the county government office to work for me. You choose one!"
"oh!"
After saying this, Li Shimin yawned and led his group of lackeys back to the palace.
After he left, Li Jue went to check on Li Tai and found that Li Tai had also been carried away by the princess and servants. He could only wash up and go to sleep.
The next day, Li Jue arrived at the Chang'an County Government Office early in the morning.
The county yamen runners and clerks were overjoyed to see Li Jue; they hadn't seen him for almost a month.
Good morning, Your Highness!
Good morning, everyone!
"Your Highness has worked hard..."
"You've all worked hard!"
"Is there anything urgent that the county government needs my help with?"
"this……"
Just as the clerk was about to say no, Su Dingfang quickly jumped out to stop him and racked his brains to find a bunch of things for Li Jue to do.
"have!"
"The merchants in the West Market said the streets are too narrow and they want to widen them..."
Li Jue was immediately displeased upon hearing this. The Tang Dynasty supported so many officials, yet they couldn't even handle such a small matter.
"Su Dingfang, is it really necessary for me to trouble myself with such a small matter?"
Upon hearing this, Su Dingfang scratched his head awkwardly.
“Your Highness, there was no need to trouble you, but widening the road requires demolishing the houses on both sides, which adds a lot of trouble…”
Li Jue sighed upon hearing this.
"You're no match for Li Yifu. If all else fails, we'll transfer you to the border as a general and let Li Yifu come back as a county magistrate!"
Su Dingfang was delighted to hear this.
"That's great! If Your Highness really lets me lead the troops, I'll definitely conquer a vast territory for you, hahaha!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue quickly offered a reminder.
"Be careful what you say. We're building this empire for His Majesty, not for me..."
Upon hearing this, Su Dingfang smiled awkwardly.
"The same..."
Li Jue thought to himself, how can these be the same? Li Er is Li Er, and I am me. If Li Er doesn't die, who in the Tang Dynasty will dare to rebel?
However, he was too lazy to argue about such a trivial matter and waved to Su Dingfang.
"Come here for a second!"
Li Jue led Su Dingfang to a map and pointed to the empty tunnel on the map.
"Let's put the expansion within the city on hold for now. We can categorize the goods in the West Market and then build a large market outside the city to distribute them elsewhere."
"this……"
Su Dingfang felt a headache coming on when he heard this and couldn't help but remind him.
"Your Highness, is this not an appropriate action?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Your Highness may not know this, but the commercial taxes of the Tang Dynasty are collected at the city gates. Once a market is established outside the city, we will no longer be able to collect taxes."
Upon hearing this, Li Jue couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Are you stupid? The city gates are inanimate, but the people who collect taxes at the city gates are alive!"
"Why don't you send a few tax officials to guard the entrance of the market?"
Upon hearing this, Su Dingfang thought about it and realized that it was indeed a viable approach. However, this matter involved many parties and might even require coordination from three provinces and six ministries.
"Alright, I will give it my best."
"By the way, Your Highness, many disaster victims have recently arrived outside the city, and Wannian County has already begun disaster relief efforts. Should we..."
Upon hearing this, Li Jue looked puzzled.
"Where did these disaster victims come from?"
Upon hearing this, Su Dingfang pointed to the north.
"They must have come from the North."
"But that's old news. Every winter, there are always disaster victims from Dingzhou and Shangzhou coming to the capital. It's just that in previous years the number was very small, only a few thousand. This year, I don't know why, tens of thousands of people have come."
After a moment's thought, Li Jue replied.
"Have you accepted them all?"
"The textile workshops are short-staffed, so let them absorb some workers, and then, taking advantage of building a large market, hire even more..."
"promise!"
Li Jue made some simple arrangements and then went to sleep in the back room. Anyway, Li Er only told him to come to the county government office, but didn't say what he was going to do there.
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