hsntnovel Chapter 1826 Reward 2
Chapter 1826 Reward 2
The aristocratic families just didn't want Li Shen to be rewarded with a fiefdom, as a fiefdom had a different meaning from other money.
They did not expect that the Crown Prince would directly issue His Majesty's decree today.
Logically, this matter should have been discussed with court officials because it involved exceeding the rules.
If Li Shen was newly awarded and did not have the 1,500 fiefs, the noble families would have no reason to object.
But that's different now.
"Haha, other things can be worth tens of millions of strings of cash? Are you stupid?
Prince Ji is rich enough to rival a country. If he is to be rewarded with money and property, wouldn’t it be better for him not to just give so much money to the court?
Why did Prince Ji give money to the court and then give some money back as a reward? How ridiculous."
Before Li Shiji could speak, Cheng Yaojin sneered and looked at the people from the aristocratic families with an expression that said, "You are fools."
The people watching were furious.
"Duke Lu, what do you mean? Are you humiliating us?" Zheng Jingsi asked Cheng Yaojin angrily.
"Shame on you, huh, so disrespectful. I, Old Cheng, am an educated man and I know etiquette." Cheng Yaojin curled his lips and said disdainfully.
"You..." This made Zheng Jingsi very angry. You are the only one who knows etiquette?
How many words do you know? How dare you speak like that?
As we all know, Cheng Yaojin doesn't like reading and can't recognize a single big word.
Coming from him, these words were simply disrespectful.
"Duke Lu, what we are discussing now is the violation of the rules. Please don't talk about other things." Cui Renzhi scolded angrily.
"This is what I, Old Cheng, am telling you. Your Highness Prince Ji has done a great deed by building the road.
Your Majesty has given Prince Ji some rewards in recognition of his contributions, but you are trying to stop him. What is your intention?
Don't you think that Your Majesty should reward meritorious officials?"
Cheng Yaojin's bull eyes glared at him, which was quite scary.
"Duke Lu, we are not saying that we cannot reward meritorious officials, but Prince Ji already has 1,500 fiefs.
The last time I gave him a fief, it was against the etiquette. So we ask Your Majesty to change the reward. Cui Renzhi hurriedly explained.
This old demon Cheng is also a shrewd person. He actually wants to deliberately distort their meaning.
Wouldn't this make them the target of public criticism?
"My dear Ma, what do you think about this matter?" Li Chengqian did not comment on the debate between the two parties, but looked at Ma Zhou.
Ma Zhou stood up calmly:
"Your Highness, Your Majesty has already issued an order on this matter, and I have no opinion on it.
This is your Majesty's family affair, and I am not in a position to interfere."
Li Chengqian nodded and looked at Yu Zhining.
Yu Zhining was more concise. After bowing, he said, "I second what Secretary Ma said."
"Your Highness, you must not violate the rules. Otherwise, the people will think that even the royal family does not follow the rules, so how can we rule the world?"
Lu Chengqing had to stand up, even though he knew it was useless to oppose this matter.
"Duke Zhao, what do you think?" Li Chengqian looked at Changsun Wuji again.
Zhang Sun Wuji immediately stood up and saluted. Although he was unwilling to do so, it was his sister's request.
“Your Highness, as Secretary Ma has stated, this matter is your Majesty’s family affair, and we do not need to say more.
It is not an exaggeration to say that what Censor Cui said violates ancestral rules.
But there are exceptions to everything.
King Ji spent more than 10 million yuan on building roads, which benefited the country and the people. Now, the journey from Chang'an to Luoyang can be shortened by 30%.
Going to Xinzhou, you can give birth in half the time.
There is also the road from Chang'an to Goguryeo, which will be of great help to our Tang Dynasty in governing Liaodong in the future.
As for the road from Chang'an to the important city of Qinghai that is currently under construction, it is the top priority of our Tang Dynasty.
It saves a lot of time for my army to march to the border.
It is not excessive to reward such a merit with a fief of 1,000 households. I believe even the late emperor would agree."
Zhang Sun Wuji's words once again made the aristocratic families silent. Four prime ministers and a useless person all agreed, and it was obvious that they were evenly matched.
"That's right. If your Cui family wants to build a road thousands of miles long and crown a king, I, Old Cheng, will agree. If you have the ability, build one and show it to me.
You have no ability. King Ji has done the repairing. You can just watch from the side. What qualifications do you have to complain?
You are so poor that you can't even afford to go to a brothel, and you are still building a road? Pah."
When Cheng Yaojin saw that he had the upper hand, he immediately put his hands on his hips and started laughing at the people from the aristocratic families.
The aristocratic family members were so angry that they couldn't stop shaking:
"Rough piece!"
"So filthy!"
Li Chengqian saw that the time was almost right and said:
"Well, His Majesty has already made the decision on this matter, and there is no need for you to say more. Whether it is a family matter or a state matter, Prince Ji deserves it.
As your majesty said, I hope that Prince Ji can make good use of the reward, continue to serve the country, and become a pillar of the country."
"I will not disappoint your majesty and will devote myself to the Tang Dynasty until my death."
Li Shen bowed to show his gratitude.
"Retreat from the court~~~~~"
After a long moan, Li Chengqian stood up and left.
"Old Ten, congratulations."
Walking out of the hall, Li Tai congratulated Li Shen.
"Congratulations." Li Shen replied symbolically.
"What's wrong? Old Ten, you don't look very happy." Seeing Li Shen's expression, Li Tai asked.
"Fourth brother, what's there to be happy about? This was bought with countless money from me.
The income from 50,000 mu of good farmland in a hundred years is not enough for me to build a road." Li Shen shook his head.
"Tenth brother, you can't think like that. It is an honor to receive Aye's reward. What's more, Aye praised you highly in the imperial edict."
Li Tai persuaded with a slight smile.
"That's right. Honor is certainly honor. But it would be even better if the reward was several million strings of cash." After listening to this, Li Shen felt that what Li Tai said made some sense.
Receiving the emperor's reward can indeed be considered an honor. If he were not a prince, he would definitely feel so.
But he is a prince and his father is the emperor. Who would care about a thank-you letter written by his father?
"Millions of strings of cash? You are so bold to think so. Aren't you afraid that Aye will give you a few hundred sticks?"
Li Tai almost cursed, "How can you say millions of strings of cash so easily?"
Li Shen looked at Li Tai with contempt:
"Brother, what are you talking about? It's just a few million coins, not a lot. Aye has it too.
Not to mention my father, even my sister's family has millions of strings of cash.
What's the big deal about this small amount of money?
In fact, if the fourth brother had no money, he would have to be so miserable and ask Aye for 1.8 million strings of cash.
Aye has a lot of money in his treasury.”
"Old Ten, are you too arrogant, or are you and Aye playing too much? Why do I feel a little scared?
You and Aye are both playing with millions of dollars now?"
Li Tai felt a little confused at the moment. He suddenly felt as if he was not in the same world as the two men.
"Fourth brother, how about we go steal it?"
(Poke, poke, poke)