Three whips break the father-son relationship, please call me prince

Chapter 200 Tang Dynasty Silver Dollar, Li Datou
late at night.

Taiji Palace is extremely quiet, and the slightest sound of footsteps can break the silence.

Li Shimin lay on the couch, closed his eyes and let Wu Cairen clean up the traces of the war for him.

"Your Majesty, change your clothes!"

Wu Cairen called softly. Li Shimin opened his eyes and looked at the white scene without any ripple. At this moment, he was like a sage, with a clear mind and no distractions.

Several palace maids helped Li Shimin to stand up and put on a cool undershirt for him.

He thinks it's more refreshing not to wear anything.

"The prince hasn't returned to the palace yet?"

Li Shimin asked calmly, without even lifting his eyelids. He was too lazy to do so and did not have the strength to do so.

"Since there was no report from the palace gate, he probably didn't return to the palace."

While Wu Cairen was tidying up Li Shimin's inner garments, she said softly, "At this hour, the gates of Chang'an have long been closed, and the palace gates have also been locked."

"The prince probably won't be coming back. He may just stay out here."

"I'll be back tomorrow."

Li Shimin said: "This rebellious son didn't come back and didn't even say hello."

"He is the prince, doesn't he know the rules?"

"When you're out all night, you can do whatever you want."

Wu Cairen and several palace maids helped Li Shimin lie down, and she also lay down and comforted him softly.

"no!"

Li Shimin turned over and sat up, and Wu Cairen was caught off guard and almost knocked over.

"Somebody come!"

"His Majesty!"

"Ananda, take my hand and leave the palace immediately and call the prince back to me."

Li Shimin gave the order.

"Your Majesty, it's so late, isn't it a bit..."

Before Wu Cairen could finish her words, Li Shimin gave her a cold look and immediately shut up.

"roll!"

"Yes……!"

Wu Cairen got up in a hurry, not caring about how thin he was wearing, and bowed hastily to leave.

It must be said that Li Shimin was really heartless. He had just abused someone and now he turned against her.

But he really didn't take Wu Cairen seriously. If it weren't for her charming and lovely appearance, Li Shimin's novelty would not have worn off.

Otherwise, meeting him once would be Wu Cairen's dream.

Li Shimin was not sleepy either, so he asked someone to bring a table and began to review the memorial.

These were all sent by the Eastern Palace, waiting for his approval.

In fact, it doesn’t take much effort, after all, many suggestions and solutions have been given.

He thought the plan was feasible and approved it.

If you are not satisfied, just call back.

……

Tiangong Workshop.

Li Chengqian was ready to go to bed, but a burst of noise woke him up completely.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has issued an order requiring you to return to the palace!"

Zhang Ananda said.

"What's wrong?" Li Chengqian asked puzzledly.

"Nothing, it's just that His Majesty wants you to return to the palace."

"..."

Nothing to do after eating, right?

Li Chengqian was so angry that he laughed.

But there was no way out, as Li Shimin's handwritten edict had arrived.

He had to reply even if he didn't want to.

"You said you didn't sleep in the middle of the night and ordered me to return to the palace. Is there something wrong with you?"

Halfway through the journey, Li Chengqian complained.

Of course Li Zhi and the others didn't dare to respond.

What's wrong?
I'm still worried about the prince being away.

The gates of Chang'an had been closed long ago, but now they were wide open, and countless guards holding torches stood at the foot of the city.

Li Chengqian spurred his horse and rushed in without stopping.

The city gate was closed again only after the prince and his entourage had passed.

This little movement could not be hidden from the ministers in the city.

Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others were also awakened by the housekeeper. They put on their coats, drank some tea with sleepy eyes and yawned, and sat waiting for news.

"The prince is back."

After the news came, nothing happened.

Everyone prepared to go to bed, but after drinking tea, they no longer felt sleepy.

"What's the big deal?"

People sleep less when they get old, and after all this, they sleep even less.

"His Majesty."

"The prince has returned to the East Palace."

Zhang Ananda said in a low voice.

"Ah."

Li Shimin responded, waved his hand and had the table taken away, then he lay down and went to sleep with peace of mind.

This was just a small move, but it touched the nerves of the entire Chang'an.

"Aye!"

When Fang Yi stood up, Fang Xuanling was already drinking his morning tea.

Last night, Aye clearly went to bed later than him, but got up earlier.

"Why did His Majesty ask the Crown Prince to return to the palace overnight last night?"

Fang Yizheng asked in confusion, which forced him to get up in the middle of the night and wait.

"The anniversary of Queen Wende's death is approaching."

Fang Xuanling's words made Fang Yizheng's eyes widen.

The year before last, which was the fifteenth year of Zhenguan.

Before the anniversary of Empress Wende's death, the prince suddenly left the palace and headed towards Zhaoling Mausoleum.

The entire court was shocked, and even His Majesty followed after him.

Although the worst thing did not happen.

But it also scared everyone.

The prince is unlikely to do that now, but who can guarantee it?

Fang Yizheng instantly understood why His Majesty wanted the Crown Prince to return to the palace in the middle of the night.

I just feel uneasy.

Even his father, who was sitting and waiting for news, asked the butler to prepare the carriage and horses, ready to set off at any time.

"So, almost all the ministers in the court were waiting last night?"

Fang Xuanling said: "That should be the case."

Hearing this, Fang Yizheng could only smile bitterly and had nothing else to say.

Your Majesty is worried, and the ministers in the court are also worried.

...Changsun Wuji went to the East Palace to ask for an audience with dark circles under his eyes.

The news was that the prince had not yet risen.

He was not without resentment. You, the prince, can sleep more, but we are so worried that we can't sleep well at all.

He had no choice but to leave and wait until the afternoon to come to the East Palace to meet the prince.

"Uncle, what's so urgent? I heard from Chongdi that you came here this morning."

"Nothing to say."

Li Chengqian is in good spirits. Young people recover quickly.

"Your Highness has forgotten?"

Chang Sun Wuji said, "You asked me to come here to discuss the currency issue."

"Oh."

Li Chengqian patted his forehead and said, "I remember now."

"That's what happened."

He had already told Changsun Wuji about this before, and was planning to discuss it when he returned from Tiangong Workshop.

However, Li Shimin’s outrageous behavior made him forget about it for a while.

"Uncle, wait a moment."

Li Chengqian said, "Brother Chong, go and call Yan Liben."

"Yes!"

Chang Sun Chong took the order and left. Li Chengqian then said, "I have recently heard that many merchants are complaining that they have to carry a lot of copper coins every time they buy goods, which makes transactions very inconvenient."

"Has the Ministry of Civil Affairs heard about this?"

Zhang Sun Wuji said: "I have heard some of it, but there is no good way to solve it. Besides, it is a customary practice to pay with one hand and deliver with the other."

"This way, both the money and the goods are cleared, and both parties can rest assured."

"That's the truth." Li Chengqian joked, "Uncle, I said that when you find a problem, you have to solve it."

"You don't take it to heart."

"Since the Ministry of Civil Affairs knows about this, we can't just ignore it because there is no better way and there is a customary practice."

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs has not exercised its subjective will and has not sought to think about solutions. It is not enough to just give it a one-sentence excuse."

Changsun Wuji was confused. Was His Highness saying that he was not doing anything?
Or does it mean something else?
"I failed in my duty."

Li Chengqian said without comment: "The imperial tax and commercial tax also account for a large proportion. If we can solve the inconvenience of trading, merchants can trade more easily and with confidence."

“Is it because of the frequent business transactions that the business tax has increased recently?”

This is a good thing for Changsun Wuji.

With the increase in commercial taxes, he is closer to this year's target of 80 million.

"It is said that wealth should not be shown to the public. Every time a merchant goes out, he carries a large amount of money with him, which is also known to everyone."

"Although the Tang Dynasty is peaceful, there is a saying that goes, 'I don't worry about thieves stealing, I just worry about thieves thinking about it.'"

"Every time I travel, I am very careful and cautious. Who can say that there won't be idle people who take risks?"

Li Chengqian said: "These are all factors that affect the tax revenue of the court."

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs must work harder in this regard and take effective measures and actions to promote the prosperity of trade and economic exchanges in the Tang Dynasty."

Changsun Wuji knew that the prince must have some thoughts, so he continued, "I am ashamed that I failed to understand the deep meaning of this."

"I dare to ask Your Highness to teach me and point me in the right direction."

Li Chengqian chuckled, "I've been thinking about it, and I've come up with an idea."

“Introducing a new currency.”

As soon as these words came out.

Not only was Changsun Wuji shocked, but Li Zhi and Li Ke, who were serving on his left and right, were also extremely surprised.

New currency?

Why are the prince's ideas so wild and imaginative?

"Your Highness, currently copper coins are in circulation in the Tang Dynasty. Does the new currency mean that we need to mint a different kind of currency besides copper coins?"

"Correct."

Li Chengqian asked, "Uncle, have you ever thought about how heavy one tael of money is?"

"What a burden a hundred strings of cash is."

"Merchants from all over the country brought hundreds, thousands, or even more."

"Not only is it inconvenient, but escorting it also wastes time."

"If one family is delayed for one day, how many days will it take for the whole world to lose?"

"If there weren't such delays, perhaps more transactions could have been conducted."

“Therefore, it is imperative to issue a currency that is more valuable and easier to carry.”

Just as he finished speaking, Chang Sun Chong came with Yan Liben.

"Sit down first."

Li Chengqian said, and continued: "I want to mint a silver dollar currency based on silver!"

"One of these silver coins is equivalent to one hundred strings of cash."

Hear the words.

Zhang Sun Wuji's eyes widened, and hesitantly asked, "One hundred strings of silver? How much silver does this cost?"

"One or two!"

Shocking!

This made everyone have an idea.

Prince, you are blatantly robbing.

Li Chengqian knew that his idea was excessive and unrealistic.

But it is not important.

He has a way to solve it.

At present, in the Tang Dynasty, both gold and silver are extremely scarce.

Some were buried underground as burial objects.

Some are also buried underground and hidden by others.

As a result, there is very little gold and silver in the world.

But one tael of silver is equivalent to one hundred strings of coins, which is impossible and a fantasy.

Changsun Wuji didn't dare to say that the prince's idea was wrong, so he could only express it in a tactful way.

"Your Highness, if the imperial court mints silver coins and issues them, even if there are laws to restrict them, there will be people who will break the law and mint silver coins privately to reap huge profits."

"It would cause great confusion."

Li Chengqian smiled calmly, "Young Master Yan."

"Can you draw and engrave the head of your majesty on a surface that is roughly twice the size of a copper coin?"

Yan Liben hesitated for a moment and said, "I can paint, but I am not sure about engraving."

Zhang Sun Wuji was surprised and said, "Your Highness, do you want to engrave it on the silver dollar?"

"is it not OK?"

Li Chengqian asked back.

"This...!" Changsun Wuji was speechless for a moment, feeling that his brain could not keep up.

What does this moment count on the silver dollar?
Li Chengqian smiled slightly.

He had long had the idea of ​​engraving Li Shimin's portrait on the silver dollar.

What's wrong with a Li Datou appearing in the Tang Dynasty?
Can't it?
If there were no hydraulic equipment, he would not have dared to ask for a high price, saying that one tael of silver was equivalent to a hundred strings of coins.

Want to use silver to make counterfeit goods?

Just ask those people if they have this technology.

(End of this chapter)