Chapter 54 fifty three

This urgent official document was sent from Xiangyang.Last autumn, Ding Jie, a bandit who fled between Jingxiang and Xiangyang, took advantage of the severe drought and famine in the area, pulled up the pole, gathered tens of thousands of people at once, attacked the city and plundered the mansion, and even captured Xiangyang at one point.Li Shimin urgently transferred Hou Junji to Xiangyang to quell the chaos, because the elites of the country were sent to the north along the Great Wall to guard against Jieli, and he could not get too many soldiers, so he only gave Hou Junji more than 10,000 people. Seeing that the general was used to fighting, he fought with Ding Jie there for a whole winter, and the situation was finally brought under control.

Normally, the Central Secretariat received documents from Xiangyang, usually urging for food or rewards, but this time it was different from the past, reporting the death of a fifth-rank Xiangyang Biejia named Cheng Yunliang.The death of a fifth-rank official on the battlefield is not a trivial matter. After reading the report, Cen Wenwen immediately came to Chengqing Palace. It was raining heavily, and the branches of several sycamore trees in the courtyard trembled uncontrollably under the whipping of the rain.Walking to the door of the palace, Cen Wenwen looked out and saw Li Shimin lying on his side on the imperial couch, sweat beaded on his forehead, one hand was gently massaging his knee, and there was a hissing sound of inhalation from between his teeth, with a very serious expression on his face. pain.Li Chengqian stood aside with an anxious expression on his face. The eunuch Wang De came to the imperial couch with a burning fire box, and said, "Your Majesty, I have brought you the fire."

Li Shimin stretched out his legs to be roasted, Li Chengqian leaned over, picked up the fire box and leaned forward, slowly roasting the affected area for Li Shimin.The day was already a bit stuffy, and with a fire box in his arms, Li Chengqian's sweat dripped down drop by drop. Li Shimin looked at his son with a gratified smile in his eyes, and he said affectionately: "Ganer, put it down, I feel much better." It's over. Your illness is just right, don't be tired, alas! My old cold legs are really delaying things." Li Chengqian put down the firebox, his whole body was soaked.

Then Li Shimin raised his head and shouted: "Benben, what's the matter?" Cen Wenwen hurried in and handed over the document: "Your Majesty, a letter from Xiangyang." When Cheng surnamed Biejia was escorting the boat to supervise the transportation of grain and grass, he encountered a flood unexpectedly, the boat was overturned, and he fell into the water and drowned.Asking the imperial court for mercy, the author at the end of the article is Hou Junji.After reading the document, Li Shimin showed some sadness on his face. He said to Cen Wenwen: "Although this Cheng Yunliang died by drowning, he died of state affairs after all, and he was in the fifth rank. He should pay a good tribute and build a building in his hometown." Martyr's Shrine." Cen Wenwen replied "Yes".

At this time, there was a rumbling thunder in the sky. Li Shimin glanced out of the window and wanted to stand up. His legs frowned in pain, and he fell back on the bed.Li Chengqian fell to his knees and said with tears in his eyes, "Father, you are here to get rid of the root cause of the Tang Dynasty. Seeing your legs hurt like this, my heart hurts even more! You are also the king of a great country. Can’t you take care of your own body? This old palace has lived for several generations, the foundation is sinking, the humidity is getting heavier, and ordinary people feel cold in their bones, let alone you, Father? I implore Father to issue an order to rebuild Cuiwei Palace! Li Shimin sighed: "Oh, the country has been weak for a long time, and there are too many things to do! How can I get the money to build the palace!"

Cen Wenwen glanced at Li Chengqian, knelt down and said: "The emperor's Kangtai is tied to the well-being of thousands of subjects in the Tang Dynasty, and this money cannot be saved! Even if there is not enough money in the treasury, we courtiers You can't let the emperor suffer this crime again!" Li Shimin was about to talk, when Fang Xuanling walked in, and said anxiously as he walked: "Your Majesty, something serious happened. Just after receiving the urgent report, the river surged, the Longshou Canal was washed away, and the water transportation was blocked." Li Shimin's face paled. Change, this is a major event, once the water transportation is blocked, only Tongguan land connection remains between the north and the south, and the transportation capacity is limited, and the supply of food and grass for the frontier soldiers in Jingzhou and Bingzhou will be limited. He said to Li Chengqian and Cen Wenwen: "You still have to Let me rebuild Cuiwei Palace, everywhere is asking for money, hundreds of thousands of frontier soldiers are waiting to eat, even if it is repaired, can I sleep in it? Sigh! This food and salary is a big deal, a transfer section The involved areas are very wide, and all six ministries are involved. It is difficult for anyone to intervene. In my opinion, let the East Palace take the lead in managing this task. While rushing to repair the water transport, at the same time adjust the Tongguan official road! There must be no less grains!" Li Chengqian cupped his hands and said, "Your servant obeys the order."

It rained for three whole days, and the rain got heavier and heavier, and the streets were flooded with water. There was a voice of reconciliation from the Fuyuan Shengliang Store in the city: "Come in, Yangzhou Jiangnan rice thirty-eight stones and five buckets, come in, Guanzhong corn twenty stones..." In the sound of reconciliation, Dou Yi, the richest man in Chang'an, walked into the shop of the grain store. He was an old man in his fifties, without a beard on his face, with a very thin body, and a pair of eyes that showed the shrewdness of a businessman.His adopted son Mu Yikuan followed behind, and the housekeeper Dou Fu put away the oil umbrella outside the door.The shopkeeper hurriedly lifted his hand from the abacus, walked out from behind the counter, and said respectfully, "Master, you are here."

Dou Yi glanced at him, and asked with dignity on his face: "Has the grain been moved?" The shopkeeper smiled and said: "Don't worry, master, our granary is higher than the foundation of the imperial court's Taicang. Even if the city of Chang'an is flooded, it will not be able to flood a single grain of ours." Dou Yi was still a little worried. Yikuan said: "Yikuan, you go to each warehouse to check and see, it's raining so hard, don't be careless! I'm old, seeing that these business matters can only be handled by you." Mu Yikuan He answered "Yes" and was about to turn around and leave when there was a commotion from across the street, and someone cried out, "My God, my wheat!" Then, the housekeeper Dou Fu poked his head in from the door and said gloatingly : "The Xu Ji grain shop across the street is flooded." Mu Yikuan glared at him, "Why are you so happy when someone suffers a disaster?" Dou Fu immediately nodded and replied: "Young master taught me a lesson."

Mu Yikuan took the umbrella from him and went out to inspect the grain in various warehouses. Dou Yi stayed behind to reconcile the account with the shopkeeper. In the afternoon, a family member came and handed over a letter. back.The letter said that the heavy rain had washed away the Longshou Canal, and the water transportation from Luoyang to Chang'an might be suspended for some days.This is naturally bad news for the court, but it is good news for the Dou family, which has a large amount of food. Dou Yi immediately ordered that his 30 grain shops sell some of the good grain sparingly, and sell them in large quantities when the price of grain rises in a few days!Dou Fu was a little worried when he heard this, and reminded him not to let the officials investigate hoarding.Dou Yi reprimanded him and said, "You can't think of a way for such a simple matter? Apart from us, how many grain stores in Chang'an City have their grains not soaked in water? You give them some money for horse feed, and how much grain will be soaked in water?" Collect some and put them on the pavement, what else can the officials say!" Dou Fu frowned, and said with a flattering smile: "Look at the little elm bumpy head, the master is still smart."

The rain finally stopped, the sun rose, and the sun filled the streets of Chang'an. Shops opened one after another, and pedestrians began to appear on the street. Li Chengqian walked slowly through the street with his bodyguard Henglian Dama.The noisy voices on the side of the road attracted them, and the two stopped their horses, only to see angry people surrounded by Fuyuan Shengliang Store on the street.Someone was shouting: "I'll pay you two hundred dollars a stone, is there any good rice for sale?" A man who looked like a shopkeeper replied: "You don't have any money for a stone!" The people were anxious, and some people shouted: "Why don't you Selling grain? We’re going to the government to sue you!”

The shopkeeper said with disdain: "Who says we don't sell it? Is there not any here? The price is cheap. Give as much as you want." An old man grabbed a handful of rice and said, "This grain has been soaked in water." Pointing to the sky, he said: "God doesn't have eyes, and there is such a heavy rain, which store's food is not soaked in water!"