hsntnovel Chapter 2761 Public Announcement of Daily Life
Chapter 2761 Public Announcement of Daily Life
The emperor was always high above, and even his name could not be mentioned. In many cases, ordinary people did not know what their emperor was called.
Not to mention, he had never even met the emperor.
Li Shen thought it was a joke that the common people didn't even recognize their own ruler.
Distancing oneself from the people is meant to create an air of superiority and mystery, but this can lead to a disconnect from the masses.
Even my grandfather interacted with the people in a kind and approachable manner back then, which proves that the ancient methods were wrong.
Li Shen's words indeed made Li Shimin ponder. Emperors had always been mysterious, or rather, unlike any other.
But Li Shen's words make some sense; doing so would make him more approachable.
"Brilliant idea, what do you think?"
"Father, I fully agree with what my tenth brother just said about publicly dealing with corruption. This will let the people know that the court is not the corrupt officials they claim to be protecting each other."
But regarding the matter of publicly revealing Father's daily life... I dare not presume to speak on this; it is up to Father to decide."
Li Chengqian thought about it but still didn't express his opinion. After all, this matter was neither a big deal nor a small one.
By publishing the emperor's daily routine, the veil of mystery surrounding him was torn away, making the people realize that the emperor was not all that special.
It has lost its former authority.
"Father may not know that the common people are unaware of the truth; they have always believed that the palace was built of gold."
They even said that the palace was full of gold and rare treasures, and that even the horse that Father used was made of gold.
The emperor ate delicacies from land and sea every day.
The son wanted to use this opportunity to tell the people that their taxes were not squandered by the royal family, but were used to improve their lives.
They used their tax revenue to clean up river channels, dig irrigation canals, build water conservancy projects, repair dikes and dams, provide disaster relief, and construct straight roads throughout the country.
The emperor did not spend the national treasury's money. The royal family had its own estates and shops, and all expenses were earned by themselves.
Instead of using their offerings to provide us nobles with a life of luxury, as they intended.
Li Shen looked at his father with a determined gaze and a very serious expression.
However, no one else was infected. What Prince Ji said was truly grand and dignified. The royal family's salary and the palaces built by His Majesty were all from the national treasury.
Only after the reign of Prince Ji did the royal family accumulate savings, thus reducing the expenditure of the national treasury.
Have you forgotten that even the Empress participated in weaving cloth back then?
However, these people are all paid salaries and are worshipped, so they can't openly mock or refute them.
Li Shimin was swayed by Li Shen's words. Li Shen was right about one thing: the common people genuinely believed that he was living a life of extravagance.
But they didn't know that they were actually quite frugal. When they were short of money, in order to reduce the palace's expenses, they released several thousand palace maids and eunuchs.
Back then, I lived a simple life, eating plain food and tightening my belt.
He was afraid of failing the offerings the people made to him.
Now that he has money, he has stopped spending public funds and pays for the construction of his palaces and villas himself to avoid being reprimanded by his ministers.
"Brilliant! I am getting old, and you will be the emperor in the future. Do you agree with the tenth prince's proposal?"
Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian, because if this matter were settled, Li Chengqian would eventually be exposed.
How could Li Chengqian not know his father's thoughts? If his father didn't want to, he wouldn't have asked him.
He quickly bowed and said:
"Father, I agree with what my tenth brother said. This way, the people of the world will know that the emperor is not as glorious as he seems."
"No matter what, they were always thinking about how to improve the lives of the people."
"Yes, you're right. The emperor is indeed high above, but how can he care about the people's plight if he's always high above?"
An emperor not only needs to be authoritative, but also needs to be approachable to the people.
We need to make the people below understand who they are grateful to.
Li Shimin nodded, agreeing with Li Shen's statement.
"Tenth Prince, you will be in charge of this matter. However, you must let me see it before you publish it. It can only be published after I approve it."
If I find out that you have published this without authorization, your entire family will be confiscated and forced to beg for food.
Holy crap, such a severe punishment! Li Shen was shocked upon hearing this. This was too cruel. Not only were their family's assets confiscated, but they were also forced to beg for food?
"Father, don't worry, I promise I won't write anything recklessly, and I don't need to include everything. Have you forgotten, Father? When the newspaper was first established, I wrote about the emperor's first day."
Li Shen reminded him that when he first started the newspaper, he wrote an article titled "A Day in the Life of an Emperor."
However, Li Shimin later disagreed, so he stopped writing. At that time, he was still developing his career and wanted to avoid trouble as much as possible.
The main reason was that he hadn't been beaten up yet at that time.
Unlike now, he doesn't care about getting beaten up all the time.
"You should decide for yourself how to handle it. It would be best to include your elder brother, the Crown Prince, in the list as well. Now that he is overseeing the country, I have some free time and nothing to write about."
Li Shimin thought about it and decided that writing about him was fine, but he was not handling state affairs now, so he couldn't write that he was eating, sleeping and beating Li Shen every day.
Doesn't this make it seem like he, the emperor, is idle and lazy all day long?
Li Shen understood his father's meaning and, after thinking about it, realized it made sense, but he still said aloud:
“Writing about my elder brother is fine, but I think the people might be more willing to read about my harmonious relationship with my father.”
"You scoundrel, you want to include the fact that I beat you in the book?"
Li Shimin's eyes widened immediately, and he glared angrily at Li Shen.
Li Shen nodded without hesitation:
"Yes, Father, we can publish a members-only newspaper to report on some more exciting and secret things."
For example, writing about how the emperor raised his sons, the untold stories of the emperor and Prince Ji, the love-hate relationship between Prince Ji and his ministers... Oh my god~~~”
Before Li Shen could finish speaking, he was kicked in the buttocks, and the pain made him cry out for his mother.
He just came up with a good way to make money, so why did he get kicked out again?
"You bastard, are you willing to do anything for money?"
Li Shimin was furious. Just listen to these names! In the end, even his love and hate came out. This unfilial son is truly unrestrained in his speech and will stop at nothing for money.
No wonder he can make so much money. How is his brain structured? What is he thinking about every day?
"Father, please calm down. How could I resort to such unscrupulous means? This is just to attract them to watch. With such exciting news, there are bound to be people willing to buy it for three or five strings of cash every month."
We can then charge them extra for an advanced viewing option, allowing them to see the next day's content ahead of time, which will generate another revenue stream for us.
Chang'an City had a population of one million and hundreds of thousands of merchants. If each person received three strings of cash per month, that would amount to over a million strings of cash.