Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 405 What is "Family Rule"?
Queen Mother Yang tilted her head slightly, looked at the stunned father and son in confusion, and asked doubtfully:
"What's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly silent?"

Li Shimin leaned close to Haodaer's ear and whispered loudly:
"Is your Ming Dynasty going to have a Queen Mother Dou?"

Empress Dowager Dou was the mother of Emperor Jing of Han and the grandmother of Emperor Wu of Han. She abused her power and brought great harm to the Western Han Dynasty.

Li Ming shook his head and commented pertinently:

"I don't think so. My mother is still very capable and can be an Empress Lu without any problem."

There is no need to introduce Empress Lü, she was the first wife and partner of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang.

Although she is often portrayed as a "vicious stepmother" in history, putting aside her personal morality, she was just and had strong governance capabilities. She contributed to the start of the "Wenjing Reign" in the Han Dynasty.

"If that's the case, will this world still belong to our Li family?" Li Shimin expressed his doubts loudly.

"Destiny changes, divine weapons change, and they will be returned to people with virtue. This is the law of nature." Li Ming said loudly that if she wanted it, she could come and get it herself.

"I don't know what you two are talking about. I'm just a woman who has never left the palace and has no experience." Listening to the father and son conspiring loudly, Mrs. Yang remained calm and continued to speak with a smile.

The fighting between masters is so simple and unpretentious.

The harmonious family of three continued to drink tea and hold the family meeting in a cordial and friendly manner.

The content of the meeting is the whole world.

Now, the territory ruled by Li Ming extends to the East China Sea in winter, the Pamir Mountains in the west, the ends of the earth in the south, and the Heilongjiang River in the north.

The territory spans thousands of miles, far beyond the limits of traditional agricultural civilization, and encompasses all of the most suitable land for farming and grazing on the earth in the seventh century AD.

It is not easy to govern this ridiculously vast territory. It requires extremely sophisticated means of governance, ingenious power structure design, and political thinking that is ahead of its time.

Coincidentally, the above characteristics are all possessed by the three auspicious treasures of the Li family.

The family of three was chatting happily, and every word they uttered affected generations and billions of lives.

During Li Ming's "Monarch Offline" period, what happened in this vast land, what is the current situation, what policies should be adopted in the future, and what goals should be achieved.

In short, it is the past, present and future of the world.

"This past drought mainly wreaked havoc in the Central Plains, Guanzhong and Shanxi regions north of the Huai River.

"The climate in Northeast China and Liaodong is mild, with abundant rainfall, so a good harvest is expected.

"The southern region has just experienced the plum rain season and the beginning of the summer drought, and has also encountered consecutive typhoons, resulting in more precipitation than in previous years."

Farming has always been the top priority for this nation, and Queen Mother Yang was not shy about sharing everything she knew.

Li Shimin listened quietly, but was shocked.

The area south of the Central Plains has always been the sphere of influence of the Tang Dynasty!

How could Empress Dowager Yang, who was still in a hostile state at the time, know the situation in the Tang Dynasty so clearly and have such a detailed grasp of it!
In the past few months, I have been busy fighting, but I didn't expect that my understanding of my own country is not as good as that of the queen mother of the enemy country!
What made Li Shimin's back cold was that Li Ming was not very surprised that his mother knew so much. He just nodded calmly and said:

"We have to fight drought and prevent floods. It looks like this summer is destined to be a turbulent one."

Li Shimin felt his scalp tingling.

It turns out that our country has always been one-way transparent to the Ming Dynasty?

What a terrifying intelligence capability this is! No wonder the Tang Dynasty lost so miserably...

Yes, this "Battle for Supremacy between Ming and Tang" was very lively on the surface, with both sides fighting back and forth and countering each other's moves.

In fact, the Tang Dynasty suffered a terrible defeat.

Because it only took a few months from the time Li Ming clearly raised the banner of anti-Tang to the time he beat the emperor, crown prince and emperor emeritus of the Tang Dynasty to their knees and forced them to take prisoner.

It was almost shorter than the duration of the "Battle of Hulao Pass", which Lao Li was most proud of.

The Battle of Hulao Pass took Li Shimin nearly ten months, and he finally captured the fortified city of Luoyang. Even then he was praised as "astronomically fast".

But Xiao Li took about the same amount of time to sweep the entire world.

Looking at it this way, how can one describe it in one word?

"Grandpa, what's wrong with you? Are you worried about something?"

Li Ming noticed that his father suddenly fell silent and poked him curiously.

Li Shimin said expressionlessly:
"Your grandfather is regretting it."

Li Ming: "What do you regret?"

Li Shimin: "I regret not killing Di Renjie and that guy surnamed Lai."

Let those two guys be the traitors!

Li Ming: “?”

However, Li Shimin did not dwell too much on this topic.

That war is a thing of the past. Let the past be the past. We must always look forward.

"Although the situation of summer harvest this year is severe, I have the help of my grandfather, mother and other officials in fighting floods and droughts. I can rest assured and rule the country with ease."

The weather issue had been discussed thoroughly, and Li Ming switched to the next topic.

“What is the domestic industrial and agricultural output and the state finances like?”

Income and expenditure, compared with expenditure items such as disaster relief, Li Ming is more concerned about income items.

Empress Dowager Yang pointed to the bookcase with a smile:

"I knew you were most concerned about economic issues, so I asked Fang Xiang and Yi Ze to sort out the account books in advance. They are all here for you to check."

Li Shimin couldn't help but raised his eyebrows.

My goodness, arranging the emperor's schedule and giving orders to the prime minister. This is probably even worse than Empress Lu. She's almost becoming the executive vice emperor.

If I had known this, shouldn't I have set up a stricter access control system for the harem to completely isolate them from government affairs...

Old Li began to regret in his heart again.

However, Li Ming was not afraid of the Queen Mother abusing her power.

On the contrary, even before he led the army in person, he deliberately delegated power to Empress Dowager Yang and instructed Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji to cooperate with the Empress Dowager.

It is not his style to be suspicious of each other and to cause internal friction.

Li Ming opened the account book briskly, and after just a glance, he could not help but praise:
"As expected of a two-generation house magistrate, he does a great job of accounting."

The diverse and complex economic and livelihood activities of hundreds of millions of people in a country are transcribed in digital form and displayed in a clear and logically rigorous form.

It's easy to imagine how difficult this feat is.

"Because when the statistics were compiled, the former Tang territory had not yet been incorporated into our country's management and financial data was not obtained, so the data range is limited to the former Ming territory north of the river."

Empress Dowager Yang looked at Li Ming flipping through the account book with a smile, just like an ordinary kind mother looking at her son who was studying hard:
"To unite the two countries and unify the world, we must first unify the statistical data caliber."

It’s just that the content of the conversation between mother and son is a bit beyond the scope.

"Well, when I was at the front line, I sent a letter to Chang Sun Yan, asking him to take the lead in implementing this matter, and asked Fang Yize to assist in the organization. They will be very busy for the next period of time..."

Li Ming responded while flipping through the accounts.

The country is so large that the accounts recording economic activities are naturally astronomical.

However, Fang and his son are very skilled in keeping accounts, and the main items are clear at a glance, making them like human Excel.

As Li Ming watched, his brows furrowed.

"The economic growth is not high and has not met expectations. Even if we take the war into consideration, our country's strength should be more than this..."

Li Shimin listened quietly on the side without saying a word.

It was obvious that Haodaer thought the performance of the ministers was not satisfactory. But Li Shimin did not think so.

As he looked along the way, he found that the Ming Dynasty was not just thriving, but simply thriving.

This achievement was achieved despite the huge cost of the war.

The ministers have worked very hard and done their job well, so why should their performance be deducted? He is indeed a black-hearted boss... Li Shimin observed a second of silence for the powerful officials of the Ming Dynasty who might have their salaries deducted.

Queen Mother Yang was still smiling:
"Don't make it too hard on them tomorrow. Hebei is suffering from a severe drought and crop failure, so the financial figures are bound to look bad.

"If Heaven does not grant one's wishes, it is not one's fault."

Although under Li Ming's promotion, the Ming Dynasty was engaged in large-scale infrastructure construction, steel production, and trade.

However, under the limitations of the times in the seventh century AD, agriculture was still the undisputed leader and occupied an absolute position in the national economy.

In other words, the Ming Dynasty could not escape the curse of "depending on the weather for its livelihood".

"Is it really because of objective factors..." Li Ming muttered in a deep voice, thinking whether he should use this topic as an excuse to reprimand the ministers at the meeting tomorrow, asking them to tighten their muscles and tense their nerves.

Li Shimin interrupted:

"When you were stationed in the capital, the officials did a good job. When you were away, the officials did not do a satisfactory job. Doesn't this just prove that this country cannot do without you?

"If you are the same whether you are here or not, how can you highlight your necessity? What is the use of you?"

These words made Li Ming and Queen Mother Yang stunned for a moment. After a while, they smiled knowingly.

"It was our father who grasped the essence of imperial power." Li Ming said with a smile.

In a peaceful atmosphere, a family of three determines the future of the world.

…………

Time passed quickly and it was evening in a blink of an eye.

The rain was still pattering outside, and the sky was so dark that it was impossible to tell whether it was morning or evening. The palace servants naturally did not dare to disturb the three nobles from discussing important matters.

It was only when Li Ming vaguely smelled the fragrance of rice in the hall that he realized it was time for dinner.

Empress Dowager Yang smiled gently and said:

"Let's eat first. You came all the way here and started working right after you got back. You must be starving."

Although her expression remained unchanged, the subtle change in her aura made people feel that Yang seemed to have transformed from a tyrannical empress dowager back into a good wife and mother.

"Just right, I'm hungry too. Hiss, my legs are numb."

Li Shimin was about to stand up, but sat back down, tapping his paralyzed right leg.

The half of the body that is paralyzed by a stroke just cannot move, but all other sensations remain normal, so the numbness remains.

"Please allow me to serve Your Majesty."

Empress Dowager Yang bent down, carefully came to Li Shimin's side, gently hugged his arms, and slowly helped him up.

The two seemed to have returned to the time in Lide Hall. Li Shimin was still the high-spirited General Tiance, and Empress Dowager Yang was still the same Yang.

"Thank you for your hard work during this period." Li Shimin gently stroked her hair.

"Your Majesty..." Empress Dowager Yang lowered her head in shame.

The two looked into each other's eyes, one with passion, the other with tenderness.

"Cough cough."

A certain light bulb, His Majesty, interrupted the disgusting conversation between the in-laws with a dry cough, and said expressionlessly:
"Oh, I suddenly remembered - speaking of eating, I forgot one more thing -"

The tone is stiff, and there is no feeling of "suddenly remembering" at all, it's like he's too lazy to even act.

Tsk... Li Shimin smacked his lips impatiently.

If this light bulb wasn't named "Your Majesty", he would have thrown it out anyway.

Queen Mother Yang still had a gentle smile on her face:

"What does His Majesty the Emperor want?"

It sounds just like the tone of a parent coaxing a child to sleep while having work to do at night.

Li Ming completely ignored it and continued to say expressionlessly:
"I think it is necessary to plan for the ministers' meals."

Li Shimin's expression changed when he heard this:
"It's just that I didn't meet your expectations. There's no need to deduct my salary so harshly!"

Queen Yang was also puzzled and smiled in confusion:

"Our country...isn't it so bad that the ministers can't even afford to eat?"

“It’s not about whether they can afford it or not, but that they don’t know how to eat it.” Li Ming shook his head.

He informed his father and mother about Fang Xuanling's lack of energy due to his long-term vegetarian diet and the diagnosis of the doctors at the Shang Pharmacy.

"I must prevent ministers from being unable to perform their duties or even retiring early due to health reasons.

"Diet is one of the factors that most affect physical condition. I think it is necessary to make reasonable and scientific plans for them."

Li Ming looked at his grandparents inquiringly.

"What do you two think? Do you have any opinions?"

Empress Dowager Yang first gave her good son a compliment
"The emperor is thoughtful and considerate. It is a blessing for the world that he cares so much about his subordinates." Then he changed the subject and said tactfully:

"However, it is difficult to satisfy everyone. What to eat is a personal matter. Compared with the daily diet of a few close ministers within the palace walls, shouldn't the emperor pay more attention to the vast number of people outside the palace walls and love the people all over the world?"

While expressing her own opinions, the empress dowager also gave some advice to the "favored" emperor. Her answer was perfect.

"It's not that I'm biased, it's just that simple."

Li Ming shook his head, patted the pile of account books, and said:

"As you can see, Prime Minister Fang is my most trusted minister and a rare talent in domestic affairs.

"If he is unable to continue to serve the country because of a trivial matter like an improper daily diet, it will be a loss for the whole world."

This made sense. Queen Yang frowned slightly and started to think again.

"By extension, except for Prime Minister Fang, all other important officials are like this."

Li Ming's expression gradually became serious.

"The country is too big and the affairs are complicated. Every minister is a valuable asset, and missing one will have an adverse impact on the work."

He speaks in a sanctimonious manner, acting like a good boss who cares about his subjects.

But for some reason, Li Shimin heard something different - you are all my "wealth", don't discard them casually before you have fully utilized them!
"Why should the emperor worry about such a trivial matter?"

Queen Yang laughed and said:

“But the ministers are also human beings. If you force them to eat something or not, even if they don’t say it, they will inevitably feel resentful in their hearts and become estranged from Your Majesty.

“It would be better to prepare a variety of small dishes and seasonal vegetables in their office, so that they can order as needed and enjoy themselves.”

It is roughly the prototype of a "buffet", and has the style of Huang Lao's "ruling by doing nothing".

Well, another famous empress dowager who believed in Huang-Lao doctrine was Empress Lü...

Li Shimin shook his head, hoping to shake off this unreasonable association from his mind.

"Hmm..." Li Ming didn't say much about his mother's suggestion, but just nodded without comment:
"Let's eat first."

(End of this chapter)