As the most revered princess of the Great Tang, Princess Chang Le had a strong sense of shame.
It was very abrupt to ask someone for something for no reason, and what she wanted was a pair of shoes, especially from a man.
"If ordinary people like it, they will use silver to buy it.”Kong Yan smiled and said," In Luoyang, there was once a guest who happened to see me ice-skating. On a whim, he made a similar request to Your Highness.”
Princess Chang Le's eyes were filled with curiosity.""And then?"
"He said,'I'll buy everything in this room. Name a price!”
"You definitely didn't sell it!" Princess Chang Le said with certainty.
Kong Yan sighed and said,"I got someone to throw him out!" That was the first time someone tried to throw money at me.”
"So…you want BenGong to use silver to smash it?”Princess Chang Le blinked and asked.
"Did you?" Kong Yan glanced at Princess Chang Le with contempt.
Princess Chang Le glared at him and said unwillingly,""Say a number!"
She had a fief and a monthly salary. She didn't even know how much money she had!
"Are you sure you want to talk about money with me?" Kong Yan asked.
Princess Chang Le's expression froze and she snorted,""So what if you have money?"
“……”
After Princess Chang Le angrily asked about being rich, her father, Li Shi Min, had the same expression as her in Taiji Palace.
"Five times the price, the citizens of the city will move upon hearing this, and the residences of my colleagues will be overcrowded.”Li Jing sighed.
In the main hall, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Zhangsun Wuji, Xiao Yu, Li Jing, Li Ji, Qin Qiong, and the other trusted ministers knelt on the left and right.
"Five times the price…Heh, no wonder he was confident that he could help you build a house in ten days!”Li Shi Min sneered.
"It's good to have money. Aren't we counting on his money this time?”Li Ji chuckled. He had a good impression of Kong Yan.
"Isn't it too childish to entrust the military affairs to a merchant?" Xiao Yu frowned.”
"The Tuli Khagan has sent an envoy requesting to submit to the Great Tang, and the Khitan Chieftain is also on his way. This is the best time to attack the Eastern Turks."”
Just as Kong Yan and Princess Changle were having dinner at the Wild Goose Falling Pavilion, the envoy of the Eastern Turkic Khan Tuli arrived in Chang 'an.
After understanding his intentions, Li Shimin urgently summoned the ministers who were involved in the military.
Tuli Khan had set up his tent in the northern part of Youzhou and ruled the eastern region. Last year, dozens of tribes, including Xi and Xiao, had defected to the Tang Dynasty, and his uncle, Jie Li Khan, had given Tuli a good scolding.
Next, Jie Li Khan sent Tuli to crusade against Xue Yantuo and Huihe. After Tuli was defeated, he fled back.
Jie Li was naturally furious, he imprisoned Tu Li for more than ten days and whipped him fiercely!
One could imagine how angry Tuli was. From then on, he started planning to rebel against Jie Li Khan.
And just a month ago, Jie Li Khan had asked Tuli to recruit soldiers, but Tuli had directly rejected him. The battle between uncle and nephew had caused a complete break!
The internal strife of the Turks was naturally a good thing for the Great Tang.
However, although the Great Tang had been developing steadily over the past two years, natural disasters continued to occur, and the treasury was empty.
They could fight, but they would definitely suffer from injuries later on.
This was also one of the reasons why Li Shiming had refrained from attacking the Turks.
And now, a local tycoon had come to Chang 'an.
According to Li Shiming's investigation, this local tycoon's silver was enough to support the war against the Turks.
With the humiliation of the alliance at Weishui River and the experience of war, the ministers in the palace didn't feel any psychological pressure about war.
Even the more stubborn Xiao Yu was in favor of avenging his past humiliation. Last year, when Xi, Xiao, and several dozen other tribes had defected to the Tang, he had suggested taking the opportunity to attack the Eastern Turks.
There was a deeper reason. His sister was still trapped in the Turks.
Empress Xiao of the Sui Dynasty!
"But will he pay for this silver?”Li Jing asked hesitantly.
Li Shi Min revealed a painful expression, and the others all fell silent.
The amount of silver spent on war was far more than building houses.
"Even if you don't want to, you have to!" Li Shi Min said hatefully. In the past two days, he had been provoked by the alliance at Weishui River. He couldn't wait to destroy Peckham.
"It seems that Your Majesty already has a solution. Then we don't need to consider the resources needed for this war.”Du Ruhui said as he stroked his beard.
" Cough cough…" Li Jing could not help but cough. The other ministers also revealed a playful smile.
Only Li Shimin looked at Du Ruhui in disbelief.
"Keming, I plan to leave this matter to you.”Li Shi Min said faintly," After all, you're the only one who spoke up for him.”
Li Jing was the first to agree." Indeed. That kid knows how to repay kindness. It's most suitable to hand him over to Keming."”
The rest of the ministers also smiled and agreed.
Du Ruhui's expression was calm as he said lightly,""Your Majesty seems to have forgotten someone."
"Hmm?" Li Shimin looked at Du Ruhui.
"Kong Yingda." Fang Xuanling muttered.
Du Ruhui nodded and smiled faintly." Although Chancellor Kong doesn't know much about military affairs, he's very knowledgeable. I think he won't refuse His Majesty's request."”
"Kong Yingda?" Li Shi Min raised his eyebrows.
"Other than that, if you want him to pay, Your Majesty still needs to do one more thing.”Du Ruhui said in a deep voice.
Everyone's expression was stern. They had all guessed what Du Ruhui was going to say.
Zhangsun Wuji lowered his eyebrows and did not speak. He did not have the slightest expression.
"Zhangsun Shunde." Li Shi Min's face darkened.
Du Ruhui said in a deep voice," This time, it was indeed Shunde's fault. If what Kong Yan said in court is true, I implore Your Majesty to punish him according to the law!"”
"Do you think that if Zhen didn't deal with Shunde, he wouldn't have paid this silver?”Li Shi Min asked coldly.
Du Ruhui frowned." Your Majesty, you shouldn't dwell on this. Shunde's corruption of disaster relief funds is true. That's enough!"”
"Let's investigate first and discuss this matter later.”Li Shi Min said. His attitude was not as firm as before.
After meeting Empress Zhangsun, even though he did not mention anything about Zhangsun Shunde, his heart had softened.
It was not because Zhangsun Shunde had made contributions to the Tang Empire, but because he did not want to see Empress Zhangsun frown and cry.
Kong Yan thought that Empress Zhangsun needed a pillow blow to influence Li Shimin's decision. In fact, he had underestimated Empress Zhangsun and Li Shimin's love for Empress Zhangsun.
Du Ruhui looked at Li Shiming's expression and felt helpless. He knew that Li Shiming was worried about Empress Zhangsun's feelings.
Empress Zhangsun was indeed virtuous. She never asked about any political affairs. When Li Shimin was muddle-headed, she was able to dissuade him in time. In the past two or three years, she had saved many ministers.
She even took the initiative to ask Li Shiming to remove Zhangsun Wuji from his position as a servant, because she was worried that his relatives would have too much power.
Such a wise Empress won the respect of all the officials of the Great Tang, and Li Shimin's love for her was second to none.
However, it was also because she was too wise and Li Shiming loved her too much that he could not help but be soft-hearted when it came to the matters of the Zhangsun family.
Empress Zhangsun wanted her brother to go home from office, so Li Shimin treated Zhangsun Wuji as a minister.
Empress Zhangsun was worried that her consorts were too powerful, so Li Shimin forgave Zhangsun Shunde many times.
"If everything goes smoothly, the threat of the Eastern Turks will be settled in one battle!”Du Ruhui vaguely reminded him.
Li Shi Min responded.
Du Ruhui sighed. He knew Li Shimin's attitude.
"Your Majesty, Zhangsun Dan requests an audience."
Wang De came to Li Shiming's side and said in a low voice while everyone was discussing the battle.
"Zhangsun Dan?" Li Shi Min looked at Zhangsun Wuji.
Zhangsun Dan, the sixth son of Zhangsun Wuji, had an argument with Kong Yan on the day of the Empress 'birthday banquet and was beaten into a pig's head by him.
Zhangsun Wuji looked at Wang De and asked,""Did you say anything?"
Wang De nodded. He glanced at the other officials and found it difficult to speak.
"Just say it." Zhangsun Wuji's eyebrows did not move.
" This..." Wang De glanced at Li Shiming, who nodded slightly.
"Zhangsun Chong, Zhangsun Wen, Zhangsun Jing, and Zhangsun Jin were knocked unconscious and thrown in front of the Imperial Uncle's Residence.”Wang De said in a low voice.
“……”
The ministers in the hall had different expressions. Li Shiming looked at Zhangsun Wuji, who had a stiff expression, and asked in confusion,"Who dares to hit them?"
"It's the people from Wild Goose Falling Pavilion," Wang De said hesitantly.”
" Cough cough…" The ministers started coughing.
It was already known that the Wild Goose Falling Pavilion was Kong Yan's property.
Li Shi Min also showed a painful expression and asked,"What's the reason?"
"Princess Changle and the halberd wielder Kong Yan were having a meal at the Wild Goose Falling Pavilion. Zhangsun Chong and the other four young masters barged in and were caught as thieves. They were then knocked unconscious and sent to the gate of the Imperial Brother-in-law's residence.”
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