The banquet ended.
Outside the Longevity Palace, the clans left in groups of three to five.
Before Li Yuanjing could walk down the stairs, a voice sounded from behind him.
"King Zhao, please wait."
He turned around and saw Zheng Shanguo and Zheng Fengchi, the heads of the Zheng family in Xingyang, coming up to him.
The two of them had smiles on their old faces. It was obvious that they had gained a lot from this banquet.
"Congratulations to Lord Zheng's family for being named a First Rank Aristocratic Family by Imperial Brother.”Li Yuanjing spoke in an official tone, causing the surrounding people to laugh.
King Zhao was already so experienced at such a young age. It was hard to imagine what he would become in the future.
"Tomorrow at noon, I would like to invite Prince Zhao over for a gathering.”
"That's right. I'm also very grateful to King Zhao.”Zheng Shanguo and Zheng Fengchi took turns to invite him.
This time, the Zheng family of Xingyang had won the title of a first-class family because of the King of Zhao.
Out of the three parties, Zheng Fengchi paid the most, the Zhao King spent the most, and Zheng Shanguo benefited the most.
No matter what, Zheng Shanguo was more willing to cooperate with the smart King Zhao.
That Cui Mingan from the Cui family of Boling had suffered a double loss this time.
After donating 830,000 dans of grain, they were ranked as a second-rank aristocratic family with the Zhangsun family who donated 600,000 dans of grain and the Hongnong Yang family who donated 390,000 dans of grain.
Wouldn't he be an idiot?
" There's no need for that, Lord Zheng. You have to thank Mr. Zheng this time. If he hadn't donated such a huge amount of food, the Zheng family of Xingyang wouldn't have been recognized as a first-class family. As for me, Li Yuanjing, I'm just talking nonsense.”
Li Yuanjing's words had given the credit to Zheng Fengchi. This simply made Zheng Fengchi think highly of him.
Zheng Fengchi thought to himself that the King of Zhao was a resourceful person who had both soft and hard methods. He was also very good at dealing with people and would definitely be a pillar of the Great Tang in the future.
Zheng Shanguo thought so too. The eight-year-old King of Zhao was as intelligent as an old fox who had been in the official world for many years. He said,"Since that's the case, I'll invite King Zhao to your residence another day.”
Li Yuanjing nodded and left the Longevity Palace, heading to the Rejuvenation Palace where the Retired Emperor was.
He had to tell this good news to the old man.
As expected, he entered the Hall of Health.
"Son, did the Cui family of Boling take the first place and be evaluated as a first-class aristocratic family?" Li Yuan asked with a smile.”
"Father has told you before that no matter how rich Zheng Fengchi is, he can't be compared to the five surnames and seven Wangs.”
Looking at Li Yuan's smug expression, Li Yuanjing laughed and cried at the same time.
Of course, most of them sympathized with him. Although Li Yuan had moved from Daxing Palace to the Hall of Health, he was not well-informed. Every time, he had to find out about the movements of the court through him.
"You bought 300,000 dans of grain from Cui Manor and sold it to them."”
"Now that the Cui family has obtained the title of a first-rank aristocratic family, they will definitely not let go of your small braids.”
"Back then, I listened to my father and donated 300,000 dan of grain to gain a good reputation. Moreover, the Cui family couldn't attack you.”
Although Li Yuan didn't attend the banquet at the Longevity Palace, he could imagine everything there.
Therefore, they were all bragging to the heavens.
"Yuanjing, how much food did that richest man Zheng donate? What rank of aristocratic family was he ranked as? No matter what, he should be grateful to you. This has helped raise the reputation of the Zheng family.。”
When Mo Lifang saw her son enter the hall, she stopped eating melon seeds. The woman was curious to gossip.
"Zheng Fengchi donated one million dans of grain and was even named a first-rank aristocratic family.”
Li Yuanjing said leisurely as he sat between his parents.
Li Yuan was so frightened that the melon seed shells in his hands scattered all over the ground. He denied suspiciously,"Impossible!"
"Zheng Fengchi definitely can't afford a million dan of grain. This much grain is enough to feed two hundred thousand soldiers for two years.”
Li Yuanjing smiled mysteriously." Zheng Fengchi couldn't afford it, but I can. I borrowed 200,000 dan of grain for Zheng Fengchi with just my mouth alone."”
Li Yuan did not believe that Li Yuanjing's mouth was worth 200,000 dans of grain.
He reckoned that his son had exchanged all his treasures for food and donated them to Zheng Fengchi.
Thirty to forty thousand strings of money in exchange for a favor from the richest man in the Great Tang was a huge loss.
Even Li Yuanjing himself admired his own operation. He told them how he had helped Zheng Fengchi and Zheng Shanguo pull the strings and how the two of them were grateful to him.
He had dominated the imperial court, and his son had made both Zheng and Zheng grateful to him with just a few words. Li Yuan was shocked.
"Are you my son?"
" Your Majesty!" Mo Lifang pouted.
Li Yuan coughed and explained," I mean, are you the son of your parents? Are you a human or a ghost?"”
Is this a compliment? Li Yuanjing didn't know whether to laugh or cry."Father, you are also a great monster. In just two years, you overthrew the Sui Dynasty and became the founding emperor. Moreover, you were defeated by your second son.”
"You're looking for a beating!"
Li Yuan's face fell as he chased after Li Yuanjing.
The harmonious scene between father and son stung Li Shi Min, who was standing outside the hall.
......
Li Shimin still did not push open the door of the Hall of Health. He had originally wanted to use the excuse of his brother's ability to raise a lot of food for the court to ease the tension with Li Yuan. He had not expected to encounter such a situation.
Her heart ached.
"Your Majesty?" The guards outside the Hall of Health were puzzled by the Emperor who stood still.
"Back to the palace."
The inner hall of the Longevity Palace was where the emperor rested.
Empress Zhangsun stayed here to serve Li Shimin and chatted with him about the situation of the womenfolk of the major families.
"That Lu Furen is really as interesting as the rumors say, her personality is straightforward and bold, no wonder the Prime Minister is afraid of her.”
"Madam Cui's face was like a peacock spreading its tail at first, but after the appearance of Mr. Zheng, it was like a frost hitting an eggplant. Tonight, the Cui family of Boling missed out on a first-rank aristocratic family, and she was ridiculed.”
"The daughter of the richest man Zheng is really not bad. She studied under the great scholar Kong Yingda. After my examination, she actually caught all of them. She is indeed qualified to teach the princes and princesses in Chongwen Hall.”
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
Empress Zhangsun rambled on like a chatterbox that had been opened. She was obviously different from her usual dignified and quiet self. After a long time, she realized that Li Shimin was deep in thought.
"I'm thinking about what I should reward the King of Zhao. He has solved the urgent problem for the Imperial Court." Li Shimin shook his head in pain.”
"He is already a noble, and his food city is not small either. He definitely does not lack any rare treasures. He dares to impeach me in the court at such a young age. This newborn calf is not afraid of tigers. If he is given a real official position, the court will never have a peaceful day.”
Empress Zhangsun smiled and suggested,""This time, it's not too much for the King of Zhao to stabilize the country and turn the tide.”
"King Zhao said that he wanted to be a virtuous king. Your Majesty, why don't you give him the title of 'virtuous king'?”
"It's just that the title of Virtuous King is not enough to show his merit.”
Li Shi Min instantly thought of it and created a title.
"I might as well directly confer him the title of 'Eight Virtuous Kings', with eight kings in his fief. I hope that he will punish evil and make decisions for the people.”
Empress Zhangsun nodded.
However, she felt that her husband was in trouble.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。