In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned to look at them.

Minister of Works, Du Chuke.

Li Shimin was somewhat displeased: "The Tang Dynasty is clear about rewards and punishments. One thing is one thing. The Prince of Han once made a mistake, and I punished him as well."

"But he has indeed done well enough, and it is only right that I reward him. How can this be considered changing my mind overnight?"

"I intend to continue to appoint him as Grand Commander to protect the borders and the people, and to completely eliminate the bandit and tiger threats."

These words undoubtedly stirred up a huge wave of discussion.

Li Chengqian was very excited. He knew that the Prince of Han and the Prince of Wei were irreconcilable enemies. As long as Li Yuanchang was doing well, it meant that he was doing well too.

Meanwhile, the entire Li Tai group was on edge!

At the end of all power lies the military!

"His Majesty!"

In an instant, many people stood up.

This displeased Li Shimin. He wasn't a fool; he was a great emperor throughout history, and he directly rebuked him: "Shut up!"

The low shouts echoed through the palace.

Everyone who came out was startled and dared not speak.

Seeing that the matter was about to become a done deal, Li Tai had no choice but to step in personally. However, he did not directly oppose it like the others, nor did he bring up the matter of redeeming himself through meritorious service.

Instead, he said, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Qiao, Chai Shao, is in increasingly poor health. The imperial physicians previously said that he does not have much time left."

As he spoke, Li Tai wiped away his tears.

Upon hearing this, the Liangyi Hall fell completely silent.

Most people in the court had heard about Chai Shao's illness.

Li Shimin's eyes darkened as he looked at Changsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang, and the others.

They all nodded.

Li Shimin staggered back a step, instantly overwhelmed by immense grief.

"Your Majesty," the courtiers said with concern.

Li Shimin waved his hand and sat back on the dragon throne.

He didn't say a word, pondered for a long time, and finally changed his mind.

"That's enough."

"The King of Han's merits should not be richly rewarded."

"But it is also worth appreciating."

"Wuji, you handle this. Just follow the memorial submitted by the Prince of Han and allocate some armor and weapons to protect the borders and ensure the safety of the people."

"In addition, extra money will be allocated for disaster relief, along with the funds from the twelfth year of the Zhenguan era."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji accepted the order.

As important ministers during the Zhenguan era, they all knew very well that Li Shimin valued old friendships. The Prince of Han had beaten Chai Shao's son half to death, and he had not yet recovered.

Offering a hefty reward now would be tantamount to provoking Chai Shao, who is already terminally ill.

Many people in the crowd, including Cheng Yaojin, secretly felt sorry for Li Yuanchang. Regardless of whether someone tried to stop him, it was indeed bad luck that he ran into Chai Shao's serious illness when he was trying to make a contribution.

Li Chengqian's face was grim, and he couldn't help but glare at Li Tai.

In contrast, Li Tai, wiping away tears, shouted that His Majesty was wise; putting everything else aside, his acting was truly superb.

Only when he bent down did he turn around and glance at Li Chengqian, a cold smile appearing on his chubby face, tinged with a hint of provocation.

Li Chengqian's pent-up anger and immaturity erupted at this moment.

It pointed directly and abruptly at Li Tai.

"Your Majesty, do not believe him!"

"Qingque is using his position for personal revenge!"

The sudden reprimand caused Changsun Wuji and many others to frown.

This is outrageous! This is incredibly impatient! How can they not understand something this simple? Isn't this just telling everyone that the brothers are at odds? What about Li Shimin's reputation?

As expected, Li Shimin was furious.

"presumptuous!"

Li Chengqian knelt on the ground in terror, trembling.

Li Shimin stood up abruptly, pointed below, and began to berate: "Kong Yingda, Yu Zhining, what are you two good for?!"

"You two were tasked with instructing and supervising the Crown Prince on proper conduct, and this is how you supervise him?"

Two veteran officials from the Zhenguan era were called upon, and they knelt down in fear, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! We are guilty of a capital offense!"

"snort!"

"Take the Crown Prince away immediately. From today onwards, he will be strictly disciplined and his words and actions will be restrained. If either of you fails in your duties again, don't blame me for being ruthless and replacing you!"

The angry shouts reached the ears of hundreds of people.

This person is truly enraged.

"Yes!!" Kong and the other two could only accept the decree in fear.

Li Chengqian understood from the reprimand that it was a veiled insult, especially the last four words, "Replace you all," which deeply hurt him and once again filled him with panic.

He left, being expelled from the court for the first time.

Li Tai watched this scene with a wide grin spreading across his face.

……

February 18th.

More than half a month has passed since Li Yuanchang returned to Liangzhou.

During this period, he extensively revised the records, handled internal affairs, and sorted out the accounts required by various departments. He quickly mastered more than half of the departments and functions of Liangzhou Prefecture.

From the end of the eleventh year of the Zhenguan era to the beginning of the twelfth year, his actions could be described as sweeping away fallen leaves in autumn.

On this day, the imperial escort team finally arrived in Liangzhou, a place they had been eagerly anticipating.

Li Yuanchang personally led the team to welcome them.

When the two groups met, Li Yuanchang's eyes widened in surprise.

"Eunuch Chang!" he exclaimed.

The court envoy, dressed in a wide robe and sporting a painted beard, was none other than the eunuch who had dealt with Li Yuanchang many times in Chang'an.

The eunuch smiled and dismounted, saying, "Your subject greets Your Highness, the Prince of Han."

"Hahaha!"

"Please rise, Eunuch Chang. If I had known it was you, I would have certainly gone out another ten miles to greet you!"

Although it was clearly just a polite remark, it was hard for the person saying it not to be happy.

The eunuch chuckled and said, "Your Highness, you flatter me, you flatter me."

"I have come to Liangzhou on His Majesty's orders, firstly to escort this batch of annual revenue, and secondly to deliver a message praising His Highness."

Li Yuanchang raised an eyebrow. Generally, when an emperor sends such a close eunuch, there are usually instructions given beforehand.

"yes!"

"Your humble servant obeys the decree." He bowed.

The hundreds of Liangzhou officials behind them all knelt down: "Your subject obeys the decree."

The eunuch immediately took out the imperial edict and began to read it aloud.

These imperial edicts were very formulaic, usually written by the Secretariat and then issued by Li Shimin after a casual glance, similar to later dynasties.

The language is repetitive, and it takes forever to get to the point.

Until that sentence: "Of the annual revenue, Liangzhou Prefecture retains 5,000 strings of cash, and an additional 1,800 strings are allocated for disaster relief, totaling 6,800 strings of cash."

"Furthermore, the use of official land and public land is fully permitted."

Upon hearing this, all the officials in Liangzhou Prefecture frowned. Only this much?

But Li Yuanchang's eyes lit up instantly!

The government allocation, including disaster relief funds, totaled only a little over six thousand guan, which sounds like a small amount.

However, this brings us to some lesser-known regulations from the Zhenguan era: a prefecture's finances did not solely rely on funding from Chang'an.

Liangzhou Prefecture also has a public capital fund, which is the capital fund given to each prefecture by the imperial court. It is entrusted to a special money collector to manage, such as opening shops and doing business, and the profits are used for government office expenses.

Secondly, there are the official lands and public lands, which are also a major focus!

To put it simply, because the imperial court was short of copper resources and did not provide enough cash, it allowed local officials to farm and collect rent.

If you don't do this right, you can make some money.

But if done well, it could generate enormous fiscal revenue!

This is no longer about money; it's about procedural concessions that allow Liangzhou Prefecture to do something.