Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 187 Alas. Get out of the way. Let me do it.
"What happened? What happened!"

In the Liangyi Hall, Li Shimin's face was livid. Facing the ministers who were looking down at their feet, he asked the question twice.

The riot in Chang'an lasted for several days.

First the unemployed blacksmiths started the riot, and then the dock porters joined in.

Instead of stopping with time, it intensified and developed into a violent storm that swept across all classes of people in the city.

In fact, Li Shimin himself knew clearly what happened.

Just as a certain governor whom he described as "short-sighted" and "narrow-minded" predicted:
The money shortage broke out.

Suddenly, without any warning, as if he had been sucked away by a magic magnet.

There is hardly a single copper coin to be found in the market.

Moreover, this cash shortage is even more serious than the one that lasted from the end of the Sui Dynasty to the beginning of the Tang Dynasty and was faced by Li Yuan's father.

At that time, there was not enough copper, so people could use cheaper metals such as "iron" to cast "bad coins" to make up for it.

But nowadays, iron is also in short supply!

This also drove up the prices of other metals.

Gold, silver, tin and other commodities, which were originally not in short supply, saw their value skyrocket under Hayek's invisible hand and were withdrawn from circulation.

The only metal that could be used to make coins was lead, which is heavy, cheap, slightly sweet, and does not grow if touched too much.

No matter whether it is “bad money” or “good money”, they are all “out of money”!

Then, the people of the Tang Dynasty, who were full of martial virtues, rebelled.

What the hell, it seems like it’s going to end every day, and now it’s really going to end today?
"Aren't you very talkative? Why are you suddenly silent today?"

Li Shimin raised his voice.

The ministers lowered their heads.

Ever since the four sons began competing for the throne, the court has been very lively, with officials all speaking eloquently.

Today I suddenly lost all my energy. I sat there with my head down, staring at the soles of my feet.

"Assistant, what do you think?"

Li Shimin looked at Zhangsun Wuji and, in a rare move, he began to mock him in front of all the ministers:

"How is the arrest of profiteers going? I guess those profiteers won't cause any big waves, right? Or are those troublemakers organized by profiteers behind the scenes?"

This is what was discussed during the secret meeting between Your Majesty and my subjects a few days ago. It should be kept confidential.

But today, His Majesty directly shook his head in the court meeting, inviting everyone to appreciate his wonderful article. This is unprecedented.

This shows that Your Majesty is really, really angry.

Changsun Wuji, who was publicly executed, was extremely embarrassed. He stood up tremblingly and spoke in a dry voice:
"Enlightenment..."

"You don't need to say anything, just step back."

Li Shimin angrily dismissed the Grand Marshal.

Changsun Wuji returned to his seat in disappointment.

"Who told you to go back to your seat?"

Li Shimin's voice suddenly rose:

"Back off, don't you understand?!"

Changsun Wuji was shocked and his face turned pale. He left Liangyi Hall with pauses.

All the ministers dared not look at the embarrassed back of the Grand Marshal and the royal brother-in-law.

They were like schoolchildren who were afraid of being called out by the teacher, and they all wanted to bury their heads in their legs.

"Tang Jian, what do you think we should do?"

Li Shimin targeted the next unlucky guy:
"Is this a small matter? Is it not as exaggerated as Li Jiedu said?"

Tang Jian also felt a shock and walked towards the entrance of the hall consciously.

"Wait!" Li Shimin stopped him and added another blow in a sarcastic tone:

"Deduct half a year's salary... Oh, no, the court today may not be able to pay a monthly salary.

"Deduct your salary for half a year, and leave!"

He was really angry today.

I'm not angry at myself and my ministers' incompetence.

Instead, he was angry at himself and his ministers for being so damn incompetent!

Li Ming has given a damn reminder and pointed out the direction!
But I still ran into a wall!

What is even more absurd is that, although the country had a bumper harvest and had won all foreign wars, he was flattered by his subjects as the "Zhenguan Reign" and respected as the Heavenly Khan by the barbarians from all directions.

As a result, there was a riot in the capital!

This hilarious story will almost certainly go down in history!

He always hoped to be posthumously named "Wen" after his death and hoped to be on par with his idol, Emperor Wen of Han, the sage of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, who had been diligent since he ascended the throne.

He will be remembered forever by future generations as the “funny male protagonist” in this “little historical anecdote”!
"Why are you all silent, my dear ministers?

"Come on, don't hide it, tell me everything you know!"

Li Shimin gave his ministers a terrifying smile.

The ministers were as silent as cicadas.

To be honest, Your Majesty is still very benevolent.

Isn't it like those ape-like people in the previous dynasty who just started a massacre, or at least let the guards beat them?

But the more this happened, the more uncomfortable the ministers felt.

Because of their incompetence, they were at a loss what to do in the face of the surging public opinion outside the palace.

Because this "money shortage" not only came quickly, but also manifested itself in a particularly strange way.

It presents phenomena that they have never heard of, never seen, and even go against common sense, intuition and logical judgment.

"Your Majesty."

Fang Xuanling went up to the stage and spoke steadily.

He was the only one in the whole audience who maintained his normal appearance, still expressionless, but his face was full of fatigue.

"Chang'an, as well as Luoyang, Bianzhou, Yangzhou, Hangzhou and other major cities, all experienced shortages of rice, flour, and cloth to varying degrees.

“As a result, these cities have also experienced varying degrees of … unrest.”

Li Shimin took a deep breath.

He was wrong, very wrong.

The extent of this was far more serious than he had imagined!

It's not just the capital that's rioting, all major cities across the country are rebelling!
"Why is there a shortage of rice and cotton? Isn't it metal that is in short supply?" Li Shimin racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.

Fang Xuanling slowly said:
“Because of the lack of metal as a circulating currency, only rice and cloth could be used in transactions such as government salaries, servants’ wages, and commodity trading.

"The greater the amount of these uses, the less the amount of food and clothing, resulting in rice and cotton being concentrated in the hands of a few people like money, and ordinary citizens can only get a little.

"Plus, blacksmiths, forgers and other craftsmen and porters lost their jobs and could only sell their labor in other industries.

"This further depresses the wages of other citizens, who receive less rice for a day's work..."

Li Shimin felt his head becoming more and more swollen and he could only support it with his hands.

This is the irony of this cash crunch.

On the one hand, the shortage of metal led to an increase in the value of coins, which is understandable.

On the other hand, the uneven distribution of rice and cotton has led to a shortage of rice and cotton among the people and an increase in its price, which is understandable.

But when these two things come together, everyone is at a loss!

How can there be a shortage of inflation on the one hand and a rise in commodity prices on the other hand at the same time?
It's like sitting on a seesaw. If you push one end down, the other end will go down as well!
Obviously, something bad had happened to the Tang Dynasty's economy.

This incident was too bizarre and far beyond the understanding of the emperors and ministers in the feudal era.

The weirdness doesn't end there.

This money shortage crisis mainly affected ordinary citizens in big cities who were engaged in industry and commerce and were more dependent on commodity exchange.

On the contrary, the self-sufficient farmers at the bottom of the pyramid in the vast rural areas are not in any trouble.

Not only was there nothing wrong, but under the governance of the Zhenguan Dynasty, their lives were actually quite good.

At least I won’t be hungry anymore.

The granaries are full, but the people in the city are in mourning, which is another strange phenomenon manifested by the current money shortage.

“Is this the economic crisis?”

Li Shimin muttered in a low voice what he had picked up from Li Ming a few days ago, put away all his sarcasm, anger, and helplessness, and asked his ministers very seriously:

"My dear ministers, what should we do?"

It’s easy to deal with the lack of money.

Food shortage can be fatal!
The accountability process was successfully passed, and the ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, no one has the interest to take sides in political struggles.

But at the same time, everyone has no idea how to solve the problem.

So, the silence continues.

Finally, Xu Jingzong, the Imperial Censor and tutor of Prince of Jin, who had just been reinstated from Hongzhou, spoke first.

This descendant of the great Confucian scholar Xu from Jiangnan, who was mocked by his colleagues as a "turbid stream" censor who was "Confucian on the outside but legalist on the inside" because he was too inhuman, once again reflected on the troublemakers:

"How ridiculous! The world has a good harvest and the people are prosperous, so how can there be any famine?
"They dared to cause trouble during the Zhenguan Reign. They are no longer ordinary mobs. We must take strong measures!
"The reason they can't survive is because they don't work hard. These fools should look at their own reasons. Have their salaries increased over the years? Have they worked hard?
“The court has no obligation to support lazy people. Citizens should not ask what the Tang Dynasty can do for them, but what they have done for the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Majesty's kindness is not over yet. Why don't those unruly people understand your difficulties? They just have no food to eat, but your Majesty is going to march north..."

In short, Li Zhi's teacher Xu is still as eloquent as ever.

His colleagues silently moved their butts away from this guy's seat and made a just cut.

I have seen moral kidnapping many times, but this is the first time I have seen immoral kidnapping.

How come you are always the one who comes up with bad ideas... Li Shimin coughed dryly and interrupted Xu Jingzong's speech which seemed a bit too social:

"Xu Qing has a great idea. Why don't we go to Hongzhou to guide the local work?"

Only then did Xu Jingzong shut up.

Cui Renshi, the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the opposite of Xu Jingzong, who was known for his benevolence and righteousness, said:
"Your Majesty, food is the most important thing for the people. You should open the granaries and release the grain first."

"Yeah." Li Shimin nodded slightly.

In any case, let's first give it a shot of cardiac stimulant to solve the immediate problem and release the rice, before it gets delayed until people really starve to death.

It would be extremely ironic if a famine occurred in the imperial capital during a prosperous period.

Li Shiji, the Minister of War and now a civil servant, stepped forward and spoke:

"How many days will the food in the capital last? Can it last until the current money shortage is over?"

Everyone looked at each other, not daring to draw conclusions easily.

Chang'an is a big city with a population of one million.

Being too urbanized, with a large population and complex division of labor, means that its social ecology is very fragile.

It is far less resilient than the idyllic small peasant economy.

And apart from Chang'an, cities everywhere need blood transfusions.

And blood vessels are the means of transport.

Canal transport...

Li Ming's words came true again!
Water transport is indeed the weakest link in the disaster relief barrel!

There is no contingency plan, and the ships may not be fully staffed...

Can it supply the daily needs of hundreds of millions of citizens across the country?

No one said it was bad.

How long will this unprecedented and unheard-of strange money shortage - or economic crisis - last?
do not know.

Will it last until Chang'an and other major cities collapse? I don't know.

The unknown is what scares the most.

The emperors and ministers of the Zhenguan period were like facing an indescribable evil god that they could not look directly at.

Even discerning His outline and recognizing His face is a luxury.

Not to mention solving Him?
"Li Ming..."

Sitting on the dragon couch, facing the bewildered ministers, Li Shimin could not help but whisper.

Compared with the ignorant ministers, it is actually the emperor himself who should bear the greatest responsibility.

I regret not listening to Li Ming’s words.

Still twice.

So much so that we are in the current predicament.

"in other words.

"if……

"Let him come..."

A bold idea suddenly came to Li Shimin's mind.

The idea was so bold that even he was surprised.

If it was Li Ming...

If Li Ming could...

Then, he can also...

"?!"

Li Shimin's body trembled.

He was still in the court now, so he immediately gathered his thoughts and said calmly:

"It's a waste of time for you all to sit in the palace and do nothing. Why don't you go back to your offices and brainstorm and think of countermeasures?"

For some reason, Li Shimin's mood calmed down when he thought of that arrogant kid.

It is a sense of peace of mind.

His Majesty's sudden change of mood naturally did not escape the eyes of the ministers sitting before him.

Everyone looked at each other.

I am secretly grateful to Your Majesty for his benevolence and for not holding you accountable too harshly.

I am also confused by this ridiculous money shortage and the subsequent political affairs.

At the eunuch's command, the court meeting ended early and everyone left in a worried mood.

"His Majesty."

Hou Junji did not retreat, but knelt on the spot to report.

In addition to him, Fang Xuanling, Yang Shidao, Cui Renshi and Xue Wanche also stayed.

Li Shimin waved his hand:
"I know what you want to say, and I have my own considerations."

After the emperor said this, the backbone members of the fourteen parties in the court had nothing to say and left together.

Li Shimin walked out of the Liangyi Hall and went nowhere, but went straight to the Lizheng Hall.

Go straight to the bedroom.

It was here that Empress Changsun died.

Li Shimin sat alone on the edge of the bed, his lips slightly opening and closing, and whispered:
"I think I should talk to you about this first...

"It's not that I forgot you, nor that I don't love the three of them.

"It's just that, for the sake of the Tang Dynasty... I believe you will understand."

After mumbling to himself, he remained motionless.

After a long time, Li Shimin slowly stood up and left.

As soon as he walked out of the bedroom, the eunuch presented him with a letter.

"His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei has sent a letter."

Li Tai's letter?

Li Shimin opened it, skipped the fourth brother's lengthy greetings and ambiguous metaphors, and went straight to the core of the end.

The general idea was that Tokyo Luoyang was in chaos and he was very scared.

Gone.

Swish... Li Shimin crumpled the letter into a ball with an expressionless face, and threw it into the eternal lamp in front of the trembling eunuch.

In the corridor outside Prince Jin's study, he met Li Zhi and Li Mingda.

"Under an overturned nest, how can the eggs remain intact? I am willing to face the national crisis with Your Majesty!"

The two children had determined eyes and traces of tears on their faces.

Li Shimin was startled:
"Ah, this crisis won't develop to the point of national destruction.

"It was only the citizens who rebelled, while the vast majority of farmers were still living and working in peace and contentment."

Li Zhi's tense expression visibly relaxed, and he said with some guilt:
"I am still immature and cannot help you, my father."

Surprisingly, Li Shimin did not encourage Prince Jin's polite words.

Just stroked his head lovingly:
"Yeah, it's a pity that you were born a few years late..."

Li Zhi felt uneasy at his father's abnormal attitude.

…………

Li Shimin left the Lizheng Hall and came to the East Palace which was separated by a wall.

He hadn't been here for a long time, and was shocked by the desolate scene here.

Except for a few palace maids who were cleaning the place, the huge courtyard was almost deserted.

When we walked into the Guardian Hall, it was completely empty. It was dark and gloomy even in broad daylight, which made us feel creepy.

In the dark corner, it seemed like someone was talking.

Li Shimin felt that the hair on his back was about to explode, so he mustered up the courage to ask loudly:
"Cheng Qian?"

The voice paused, and Li Chengqian hurriedly walked out of the darkness, his face full of surprise and joy:
"Father? Why are you here?"

"I..." Li Shimin swallowed back what he wanted to say and changed his words:
"I came to see if you were okay.

"Why has the East Palace become so dilapidated?"

After the Xuanwu Gate Incident and before he ascended the throne, Li Shimin served as the crown prince for a short period of time and lived in the Eastern Palace.

All I can say is that "things have changed and people have changed" is not enough to describe the changes here.

Li Chengqian said angrily:

"Maybe I was too careless..."

"It's not your fault. There are too few palace servants here. We can't handle it with just a few of them." Li Shimin interrupted him:
"I'll give you some more manpower."

But Li Chengqian still insisted:

"The palace ladies should serve the emperor as their main duty.

"If your Majesty feels that the Jiade Hall is dilapidated and undermines the dignity of the royal family, then you can have the eunuchs and maids of the Taiji Palace come here regularly to clean it."

Li Shimin didn't know why Li Chengqian insisted on not using palace maids. There was no need to get so deeply into the role when acting out the play of "sympathizing with the people's strength".

But he didn't come up to talk about this today, so he returned to the main topic:

"How do you think this riot caused by a money shortage should be resolved?"

Li Chengqian was stunned:
"A riot broke out in Chang'an?"

Well, there's no need to go on.

"Oh... nothing." Li Shimin sighed disappointedly, turned around and was about to leave.

"Father, please stay." Li Chengqian said hurriedly:
"It's noon now, why not have lunch at the East Palace?"

Li Shimin looked at the main hall where there was no one.

Who cooks, you?

"The East Palace has a chef with great cooking skills. I dare not keep it to myself and have long wanted to share it with my father.

"But if Father has something to do, I cannot force you to stay..."

Li Chengqian looked a little lonely.

Li Shimin also felt a surge of sadness in his heart.

But now is not the time for sentimental things.

"I'll come when I have time."

He made a verbal promise and left the East Palace.

Go straight out of the palace.

…………

Xishi, Chang'an Newspaper Office.

Li Ming took out his own private money to pay the salaries of the newspaper employees and printing workshop craftsmen.

The excess money was given to the poor people.

Although it is just a drop in the bucket, its symbolic significance is greater than its practical effect.

But in the current crisis, he also has to set an example so that everyone can get through this difficult time together.

"Zhang Heng, the daily salary is 500 coins, it remains unchanged and will be paid at 500 coins.

"I just don't have any copper coins. I'll use this jade seal as a substitute for a few days' salary."

Li Ming took out an exquisite seal from his arms, which was obviously not an ordinary item.

At this moment, the atmosphere suddenly changed.

The originally bustling newspaper office suddenly became quiet.

Everyone who was sitting, standing, or folding their arms straightened up, staring at Li Ming's back with their eyes as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

"You are giving away the gift from the Emperor so easily?
"Don't you know that this is a crime of blasphemy?"

A familiar, commanding voice came from behind me.

Li Ming's expression remained calm. He sighed and turned around calmly.

As expected, the person standing behind him was the current emperor.

Your Majesty has personally visited the Chang'an newspaper office to invite talented people to come out of retirement.

Li Ming was not surprised at all and just asked briefly:
"Do you understand?"

Everyone present took a breath.

There is no one else in the world who dares to speak to the Emperor and the Khan in this way.

Li Shimin was not angry at all towards this young boy who defied the imperial power and offended him in public.

He asked humbly:
"Is it too late? Can it be solved?"

Li Shimin nodded without hesitation:
“It’s a little trickier than when I first warned you.

"But at least you came back in time. There is still time. There is a way."

Huh... Li Shimin let out a breath.

Just one sentence made the Emperor, who had been nervous for many days, relax for the first time.

"How to solve?"

Alas... Li Ming sighed again and said reluctantly:

"Get out of the way, let me do it."

(End of this chapter)