hsntnovel Chapter 2391 If the old one doesn’t work, find the younger one
Chapter 2391 If the old one doesn’t work, find the younger one
Li Shen had already decided to send the captives to build roads in Qinghai.
This would save him a lot of money.
The road from Chang'an City to Qinghai Road has been under construction for two years, with hundreds of thousands of people mobilized and the annual labor cost reaching five million.
In two years, Li Shenguang spent tens of millions of strings of cash on labor costs.
It is impossible to say that Li Shen did not feel distressed. No wonder corvee labor was used in ancient times. Labor costs were too expensive.
If you calculate it carefully, it’s almost the same as the material cost.
So this time when Li Shen saw so many captives, he came up with an idea.
But now that Wang Xuance said this, he became a little hesitant.
"Your Highness, the captives should belong to the imperial court. You must not take them for yourself. If it's just a few dozen, it's still okay.
But there are nearly 20,000 people here, and they are rebels. If the prince takes them for himself, His Majesty may be wary.
It would be better to hand the captives over to the court, and the prince will ask His Majesty for them. This way His Majesty won’t be suspicious.”
Upon hearing that Prince Ji was going to take the prisoners, Wang Xuance quickly spoke out to dissuade him, saying that this was no ordinary matter.
Twenty thousand rebels constitute a large army.
Your Majesty will not allow Prince Ji's Mansion to have such a large team.
Although it is called labor, with the financial resources of Prince Ji’s Mansion, a well-equipped army can be built in an instant.
Your Majesty's tolerance has its limits. Rebellion and usurpation of the throne are not tolerated.
Li Shen also realized this. The reason why he could do whatever he wanted in front of Li Shimin was that
The reason he dared to compete with Li Shimin was not because he was so powerful.
Li Shimin is known as the strongest carbon-based creature in the seventh century, an emperor of all ages, with a toughness that is unprecedented and unmatched.
Even if I traveled through time, I would just be a bigger ant.
Li Shen had long understood that his achievements today were entirely due to Li Shimin's support.
Firstly, I am his son, and he can feel the father-son love. Secondly, I can bring benefits to him and the Tang Dynasty.
This is the most important.
If I were of no use and still wanted to act so unscrupulously, I would have been stripped of my title and exiled to Lingnan long ago.
His brothers are examples of this. Li Ke was reprimanded and punished, and Li Yin was scolded and demoted.
The reason was just that he trampled on some crops while hunting. Is this a big deal for the prince?
What those playboys in Chang'an City did was ten times more excessive.
But just because of this matter, he was severely reprimanded by imperial decree.
But Li Shen himself did a lot of such things, and he would just pay some money to get away with it. The memorials impeaching him filled up the Liangyi Hall, but he was still at large.
Even so, Li Shen was respectful and cautious, and would never cross the line of treason.
Twenty thousand prisoners is indeed a bit excessive.
"So, what you're saying means I'll lose all my captives? What a shame! I could save hundreds of thousands of strings of cash in wages a year."
Li Shen sighed and felt a little regretful.
"Your Highness, didn't I just say that after handing it over to the court, Your Highness can still ask His Majesty to return it.
Building roads is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. I believe Your Majesty will agree."
Wang Xuance persuaded.
But Li Shen shook his head:
“You are wrong. If this was done by someone else, His Majesty would definitely send these prisoners over.
But if I were to ask for it, the money I would spend would probably be more than the labor wages I would save.
What I said just now about charging 30% of the transportation fee was just talk, but Your Majesty will charge me 30% of the labor fee, and it’s real.
It would be better for me to hire a craftsman."
Li Shen curled his lips after he finished speaking. He could even imagine his father's expression at that time.
Rubbing his fingers together, he said to himself with a smug look on his face: This is not an easy thing to do.
When he thought of this scene, the muscles on Li Shen's face couldn't help but twitch.
This kind of scene made us familiar with each other, and I felt like I was in the same situation at the beginning.
Wang Xuance was speechless after hearing this. The love, hatred and vengeance between His Majesty and Prince Ji, the father and son, could probably be written into history books.
Since ancient times, no emperor would fight with his son like this, and even enjoy it.
He didn't know what to suggest.
Li Shen rubbed his forehead, thinking about countermeasures. How could he keep these more than 10,000 people without spending money and with good reason?
Suddenly Li Shen's eyes lit up.
"Got it! Hehe, in today's Tang Dynasty, it's not just one person who has the final say. Isn't there still a crown prince?"
"Your Highness wants the Crown Prince to handle this matter?"
Wang Xuance also thought of it instantly.
"That's right, we can't just give him the 300,000 strings of cash for nothing, at least he should do something with it, right?
My father is no longer the father he used to be. He can no longer be fooled by a few tens of thousands of strings of cash.
Now my father is knowledgeable and has a broader vision and perspective, so he is not easy to deceive.
But what about the younger one? The prince is still very innocent, like a blank sheet of paper.
The most important thing is that the prince is poor enough. As long as we give him a little benefit, he will help us do a lot of things.
The Crown Prince has been regent for many years. There are many things that don’t need to be told to my father. The Crown Prince can do them anyway.
Hahahaha, this prince is really awesome. Quick, edit the prince's letter."
Li Shen laughed happily when he thought of this. If the old one is not capable, then he can find the younger one. Anyway, the younger one will succeed to the throne sooner or later, so it is not bad to establish a good relationship in advance.
Let him adapt to the way of getting along with others as soon as possible.
Wang Xuance also admired Prince Ji very much. He could even think of such a method. Isn't it obvious that he is trying to trick the prince?
Without the Crown Prince's knowledge, he took on a job that should have been your Majesty's and blocked your Majesty's path to wealth. Can your Majesty let him off so easily?
Wang Xuance took out the letter written to the prince again and waited for Prince Ji's order.
He didn't dare to add anything to it at will.
"Just write at the back that my elder brother is kind and righteous, and he will definitely not accept this money for nothing. He will not be able to sleep or eat peacefully if he does not receive rewards without doing anything.
So I have a trivial matter to trouble you, brother.
Now there are 10,000 prisoners captured from the suppression of the rebels. I would like to send them to repair the Qinghai road to speed up the construction. I hope you will agree.
I still need your help in escorting her. I am willing to give you an additional 50,000 strings of cash as a gift to celebrate your sister-in-law's birthday. Please accept it.
My elder brother and I have a deep bond, as close as brothers. If you ever need me to do anything for you, I will definitely go through fire and water for you. . . . "
Li Shen spoke solemnly, and Wang Xuance wrote eloquently.
In just a few words, a transaction was turned into a brotherly love and mutual support, and a gift was turned into a congratulatory gift.
Li Shen added several affectionate words at the end, which made his words seem more heartfelt.
Wang Xuance was so impressed that he wanted to kowtow to Li Shen. How did Prince Ji come up with such a confusing statement?
This is much better than the fee for writing.
There was no mention of the transaction in every sentence, and every sentence was about the deep love between brothers. Prince Ji was still the same Prince Ji.
Wang Xuance handed the finished letter to Li Shen for review.
(Actually, I’m also lazy and addicted to watching TikTok)