Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 727 Hidden in the city

Li Shimin was no pushover, but he couldn't withstand the Jingtai Emperor, who was a tough nut to crack. After completely giving up and abandoning his post, the Jingtai Emperor no longer put on airs, but instead exuded the roguish charm of someone who had been through the wringer in the military.

He doesn't reason with people; the result is that he won this round, no matter how he won, he just won.

Are you angry? If you are, that's fine. There's nothing you can do about it. If you're so capable, just smash him to death with a spear.

In fact, Xia Lin didn't care about Li Shimin's desire to follow behind and get some benefits. How to put it? He was able to be so humble, which was worthy of the title of Emperor Zhenguan. Since he wanted to, we'll see how capable he was.

As for whether they are worried about the rapid evolution of the Li Tang dynasty, what is there to be afraid of? Unless they can emulate this in the future, first break the knowledge monopoly, then complete the maintenance of the food system, then increase promotion channels, and finally cultivate a group of their own experts, they really won't understand the blueprints even if they are given them.

Because... because the design drawings for Fuliang used the metric system! Just the metric standard alone was calculated over three years using mercury columns in seventeen different locations, resulting in an average value with extremely low error. They couldn't even create or understand this; they'd have to go to the underworld to learn about standardization, tolerances, and assembly line operations.

Copying something from a gourd is easy, but having the ability to copy the J-20 is another matter.

The journey from Yangzhou to Ningbo Prefecture required passing through Hangzhou, and after a 27-day trip, they finally arrived in Hangzhou.

Hangzhou is considered the birthplace of Emperor Jingtai, and it is indeed a prosperous place. After the merger of districts and provinces, Hangzhou is now under the jurisdiction of Jiangnan Province.

Everyone says that Hangzhou's scenery is unparalleled, and that's certainly true. However, both Xia Lin and Emperor Jingtai had to wear masks...

"Look at the state of you all," Li Er laughed heartily at their attire. "You look like you're not fit to be seen in public."

Neither of them spoke, because there were far too many people in this area who recognized them. So many that any random street vendor might know Xia Lin, and any wealthy person who walked by might know Emperor Jingtai.

There's no other way but to pretend.

"I haven't been to Hangzhou for many years. When I left, it wasn't so prosperous, but now it has become like this."

Xia Lin's attention was not on Emperor Jingtai at all. Instead, he was cautiously watching the shops on the road. He could clearly feel that he was being closely monitored. The sugar figurine vendor on the roadside made the sugar figurines look like dog poop. The sesame seed cake vendor baked the cakes until they were black. Even dogs would be silent for a while before shaking their heads and leaving when feeding them.

The fishmongers' fish were rotten, and the men sitting by the window, dressed like scholars, had scars all over their faces and looked even fiercer than the town's butcher.

They're all plainclothes officers...

"Speaking of which, when I was in Chang'an, I often heard merchants from the south say that West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce had a unique flavor. Since we're here, we might as well try it."

Li Er then asked with great interest, "What do you two think?"

Emperor Jingtai and Xia Lin exchanged a glance, then silently looked up at the sky. Emperor Jingtai nodded and said, "Hmm... it is indeed a unique flavor. There's a pretty good restaurant up ahead that's been open for quite a few years. Let's go there to eat."

The three of them ordered quite a few dishes. This restaurant was the same one that Emperor Hongbao had hosted when he traveled to the south of the Yangtze River, so it had a lot of good food to offer.

When the plate of fish was served, Li Shimin was quite surprised: "Eat up, why aren't you eating?"

"Not hungry."

I don't eat fish.

"If you're not going to eat, then I'll eat." Li Er didn't care about the rules and took a bite with his chopsticks.

After taking a bite, he frowned slightly, gave a soft "hmm," and then, somewhat unwilling to give up, picked up another piece with his chopsticks. This time, after carefully tasting it, he gave a loud "hmm."

"This fish died for nothing."

After saying that, he threw the fish and the plate into West Lake.

"Alas, its long-standing reputation is nothing special. It's not even as good as the carp from the Yellow River, which, when paired with braised noodles, is incredibly delicious. This stuff, fish is fish and vinegar is vinegar. Who do you think invented this? They should be executed along with their entire family."

Emperor Jingtai pointed at Xia Lin.

"No, it wasn't me, it wasn't me." Xia Lin hurriedly waved her hands: "I can't take the blame for this."

However, apart from this fish that was impossible to cook well, the other dishes were quite good. After all, compared to the north, the south has abundant produce and more frequent exchanges with other places, so a big city like Hangzhou naturally offers a variety of regional flavors.

After finishing their meal, the three of them strolled around the streets. This Jiangnan region had never experienced any wars, so the scenery was naturally excellent. In addition, its policies were governed by the Jiangnan Circuit, making the entire region's appearance different from other places.

"The biggest problem in Hangzhou right now is the new elites. The so-called new elites are the nobles who have risen in a short period of time after rounds of elimination. A large part of them are nouveau riche who have benefited from the times, and another part are the result of the old nobles with unique vision actively splitting up." Xia Lin said to Emperor Jingtai and Li Shimin as they walked. "Actually, there are no better means to curb them now, because their history of getting rich is theoretically reasonable and legal."

"Legal?" "Yes, legal." Xia Lin spread his hands and said helplessly, "There are many smart people in the world, and many smart people with courage. They will try their best to stand at the forefront of the times. What they want next is not just wealth, but more power and social status. Only then will they break the law. This problem is actually almost unsolvable. The only way is to keep beheading people."

"Killing people?" Li Shimin turned his head to look at him. "Isn't that too bloody?"

“No, we’ll just wipe out the top few, so they won’t dare to show their faces.” Xia Lin gave a wry smile. “It’s only a temporary fix, but there really isn’t a better way. Unless…”

Li Shimin lowered his eyelids: "Universal harmony."

"Do you think that's possible?" Xia Lin asked rhetorically.

He shrugged. "I hope so."

"Why is it impossible!?" Emperor Jingtai perked up at this moment: "It can definitely be done!"

The personalities of the three individuals are clearly revealed from their attitudes toward this issue. Xia Lin is obviously a natural pessimist, while Li Shimin is a pragmatist in comparison, and Emperor Jingtai is a pure optimist without any other emotions.

He felt there was no problem, definitely no problem. He thought that if there was a problem now, it was only now, and there would definitely be no problem in the future.

Although Li Shimin was not optimistic, he did not take any particular stance, believing that since things were as they were, they should just let things continue as they were and deal with the future later.

Xia Lin, on the other hand, had a God's-eye view, and he knew that this kind of problem could not be truly solved even more than a thousand years later.

As for which personality type is better, there is no superior or inferior one. It can only be said that optimists always move forward, pessimists are always right, and pragmatists work hard.

In fact, there is very little overt bullying in Hangzhou now, because Jiangnan Dao is very strict, and most of the newly rich are relatively humble and polite. Compared with the arrogant families of the past, they are much better off. After all, although they are arrogant, they do not dare to disregard everything.

Just think about what those bastards did every day before Xia Lin raised his knife, and you'll know. Now, in this small area, no one dares to say they belong to any particular family. Even scions of noble families will just clasp their hands in greeting and say their name when they meet.

"By the way, why do you hate aristocratic families so much? You've been beaten by their scions." Li Er asked curiously, "You're so eager to kill us all, aren't you?"

"I don't deserve to be beaten by them." Xia Lin smiled lightly: "I don't actually hate you, not at all. In fact, if I wanted to, I would be a top-tier wealthy family with access to the best resources in the world for hundreds of years. What about the Dugu family, the Tuoba family, the Li family? To put it bluntly, I could devour them whole within thirty years."

Neither Li Er nor Tuoba Jing could say anything about this, because it was the truth. With Xia Daosheng's abilities and influence, his family must be a top-tier family, the kind of top-tier family that even the royal family had to rely on.

“But I’m not willing.” Xia Lin was already standing by West Lake. “Because what I want, what I’ve experienced, and what I know are different from your path. How about this, I’ll create a hypothetical history for you when I have the chance.”

What does "what does it mean to...hypothesize a historical period" mean?

"It's just a normal, reasonable analysis of the course of history for you," Xia Lin said with a smile. "You could call it a bit of fun."

"You won't slander me, will you?" Li Er suddenly sensed something was wrong: "You're going to say that Li Er messed things up after becoming emperor, and ruined the country."

"You know what, you actually did it. A person without a good father usually can't be a good father either."

Then Li Er (Emperor Taizong of Tang) fought with Emperor Jingtai right by West Lake.

Both men were actually quite capable fighters, but Li Shimin was Li Shimin after all. It can only be said that Emperor Jingtai was no pushover either. He had one eye swollen, and Li Shimin's face was covered in blood from his nose.

Xia Lin leaned against a tree and watched the two fight until they were bruised and battered, even raising his hand to stop the surrounding guards from coming to their aid.

"You two, have you had enough?"

Li Shimin covered his nose and tilted his head back, while Emperor Jingtai used a jade pendant to cover his eyes to reduce swelling. The two squatted by West Lake, ignoring each other.

"If you ask me, they're all adults, over thirty years old, it's not worth it." Xia Lin shook his head with his arms crossed and said, "Don't keep bringing up Erfeng's father in the future, after all, that's a kind of inner demon that Erfeng can't get over in his life."

Erfeng didn't answer, but after wiping away the blood from her nose, she looked up at Xia Lin and said, "It's a waste of talent for you to assist such a person. Why don't you go back to Li Tang and bring your son back? That way you can be with your wife and children and realize your ambitions."

"I'll have the executioners chop you down!" Emperor Jingtai stood up, pointing at the Second Princess, his anger reaching its peak: "The worst that can happen is war."

Xia Lin waved his hand: "Stop talking nonsense. I know a music academy in Hangzhou where the girls sing folk songs exceptionally well. They're performing the Legend of the White Snake today. Compared to the Legend of the White Snake in Fuliang, the snakes in Hangzhou don't wear any clothes."

Erfeng was silent for a moment before raising her head: "Are your legs long?"

"Longer than my life."

(End of this chapter)