Chapter 32: Money Paves the Way, the Commoners Go Mad

Afterward, the few of them continued playing cards in the Angong until evening...

It was Su Liang who reminded them it was time for dinner; only after finishing their meal did everyone return.

That same evening, Su Liang, Changle, and Little Sizi returned to the Hibiscus Garden together.

The next morning...

Su Liang followed the etiquette for his return visit to his in-laws.

Meanwhile...

Li Shimin personally went to Mount Zhongnan to pay a visit and consult Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng regarding the matters Su Liang had spoken of.

Facing Li Shimin's arrival, the two were clearly well-prepared...

The answer they gave left Li Shimin speechless: Su Liang was a person who defied the heavens, and the two could not discern his fate.

However, the two did discern the national fortune of the Great Tang: it would flourish for thousands of years.

And they told this to Li Shimin.

Regarding the great drought, the two only suggested that Li Shimin vigorously promote water conservancy projects to alleviate the disaster.

Not only that...

The two also uttered the prophecy: "The sun and moon stand in the sky, shining upon the earth below. Confusing and mysterious, neither literary nor martial." They urged Li Shimin not to take her into his inner palace.

Li Shimin found the first part very pleasant to hear, but he nearly flew into a rage at the latter part.

Not to mention whether the divination by Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng was accurate, the mere suggestion that Li Shimin intended to take the eleven-year-old Wu Zetian into his inner palace felt utterly absurd.

Li Shimin did not stay long before leaving in a huff...

Regardless, this made Li Shimin clearly realize the importance of promoting water conservancy. The cause of the great drought was nothing more than the result of topography and climatic conditions.

That noon...

Li Shimin found Su Liang, who had just returned from his in-laws, at the Duke of Zhao's residence. Seeing Li Shimin's stern expression, the father-in-law and son-in-law immediately began to deliberate with him...

"Good son-in-law, what is your brilliant plan regarding what Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng said?" Li Shimin looked at Su Liang and asked earnestly.

"Hehe..." Su Liang chuckled.

He then took a sip of tea and asked in return, "Is Your Majesty referring to Wu Zetian, or the matter of the great drought?"

"Of course it is about the great drought. Could it be that my good son-in-law thinks I am that kind of person?"

Li Shimin said with immediate displeasure.

In truth, Su Liang could also solve the problem of the great drought, but it would take too much time.

"Hehe... Your Majesty is joking." Su Liang chuckled, then said, "Doesn't Your Majesty already know what to do? Why ask me?"

Li Shimin was extremely frustrated and immediately snorted, "Hmph... I wanted to discuss a concrete plan with you so that I could have people implement it sooner."

"Oh... could it be that the Dukes and Ministers of the Great Tang are all useless? Why doesn't Your Majesty go and discuss it with them?"

Su Liang glanced at Li Shimin and said indifferently.

Seeing that Su Liang was truly becoming more and more arrogant, just as Li Shimin was about to get angry...

Zhangsun Wuji suddenly chimed in, "Your Majesty... it is not that our good son-in-law does not want to offer strategies for Your Majesty; some matters are better discussed at the court session to be more appropriate."

"We cannot rely entirely on Su Liang!"

"Hmm... my father-in-law is right," Su Liang said dismissively. "If Your Majesty seeks my opinion on everything, it will inevitably make the court officials think that an imperial relative is usurping power."

"Now that the Retired Emperor also wants to live in the Hibiscus Garden, what would the civil and military officials think?"

"It is more practical for me to just be my carefree Prince."

Li Shimin realized at this moment that Su Liang's original intention was for the court ministers to discuss it, while he himself would just provide input.

Rather than having it all decided and then notifying the court ministers.

Li Shimin then said no more, looked at Zhangsun Wuji, and said, "Fuji, how about I leave the pacification of the Dangxiang to you?"

"Very well... my Zhangsun clan is considered to have originated from the Tuoba clan; I will certainly arrange this properly." Hearing this, Zhangsun Wuji immediately agreed.

He then looked at Su Liang and said, "Does my good son-in-law have anything else to entrust?"

"No... I have already instructed Xue Rengui on some minor matters."

Su Liang thought for a moment and continued, "However... father-in-law, you can stay in the Dangxiang for a longer period..."

Afterward, Li Shimin and Zhangsun Wuji discussed Su Liang's words from yesterday...

The first year of Zhenguan, the twentieth day of the first lunar month.

At this moment, inside the Liangyi Hall of the Taiji Palace...

The court officials had not yet recovered from the joyful atmosphere of the Dangxiang returning to the Tang.

A statement that left them shocked for a long time was uttered by Li Shimin: this year, the commoners in Hebei and Shandong need not engage in spring plowing; let the people of both regions go build roads instead.

This move was exactly the content of the conversation between Su Liang and Li Shimin a few days ago. Only after arranging for Zhangsun Wuji to go to the Dangxiang for pacification did Li Shimin bring it up with the court officials.

Wei Zheng, whose seat was not yet warm, immediately stood up and retorted, "Your Majesty... this must absolutely not be done! Even the dim-witted emperors in history never did such an absurd thing as not letting the commoners farm!!"

Li Shimin was not angry, knowing that such a thing was indeed hard for people to accept, so he turned his gaze toward Su Liang, who had come to the morning court specifically today, and let Su Liang handle the matter.

Sensing Li Shimin's gaze, Su Liang understood that Li Shimin was asking him to give the court officials an explanation! Although Li Shimin supported him, he would not take over this hot potato.

Su Liang smiled slightly and thought to himself:

As expected of Wei the Retorter, daring to scold Li Shimin as a dim-witted emperor in public.

He then stood up, looked at Wei Zheng, and said, "Oh? Is Minister Wei saying that His Majesty is not even as good as a dim-witted emperor?"

"This... this..." Wei Zheng was immediately embarrassed.

Wei Zheng realized at this moment that his words were too heavy; it was truly inappropriate to jump to conclusions before Li Shimin had finished speaking.

He hurriedly looked at Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, that is not what your subject meant."

"Building roads is of course a policy that benefits the country and the people, but it requires completing a five-thousand-li project within half a year, and not letting the commoners farm... this... this is truly inappropriate."

Dai Zhou also stepped forward at this moment and said, "Your Majesty, the time for building roads can be extended, and not letting the commoners farm is truly unjustifiable."

"Your Majesty, please think thrice!"

"Your Majesty, please think thrice!"

The court officials echoed one after another...

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin waved his hand: "You should first listen to the Prince of Chu's opinion. Why are you so certain that the Prince of Chu has no good strategy?"

As Li Shimin's gaze turned to Su Liang, the rest of the court officials did the same.

Su Liang then stood out and said, "You ministers simply think that the great drought in Hebei this spring and the great drought in Shandong this summer are nonsense, is that not so?"

Wei Zheng said, "Yes! If the Prince of Chu could tell us the weather a few days from now, we would naturally believe it."

"But things happening months from now... naturally will not make people believe."

"Even if we all believed it, so what?"

"It still wouldn't be able to stop the gossiping tongues of the world!!"

"Are you trying to make His Majesty a dim-witted emperor?"

After Wei Zheng finished speaking, he scanned the Dukes and Ministers in the court.

Everyone nodded one after another at this moment...

It was truly too unbelievable what Su Liang had said!

Su Liang chuckled and said, "Then what if there truly is a great drought in Hebei this spring?"

Wei Zheng said, "If there is indeed a great drought in Hebei this spring, the ministers will naturally believe what the Prince of Chu said."

Fang Xuanling echoed, "If it is truly as the Prince of Chu said, we ministers will naturally have no objections."

Du Ruhui, who was to the side, also followed up, "If it is truly so, we should use labor as relief."

"It would not be too late to build the roads then."

After hearing the words of these few, the court officials all nodded one after another.

"Good, good, good... then may I ask you ministers, how is our Great Tang's water conservancy construction currently?" Su Liang asked on the spot.

Fang Xuanling immediately said, "Regardless of whether there is a great drought or not, at any time, promoting water conservancy is a policy that benefits the country and the people."

"The ministers will naturally have no objections."

"Good... there is still more than a month until spring plowing. His Majesty's intention is to build branch canals on both sides of the Yongji Canal. What do you all think?" Su Liang asked with a smile.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood...

The Prince of Chu was determined that there would be a great drought in Hebei in the spring.

Regardless, regarding what Su Liang said, no one had any objections.

It was reasonable and well-founded; it was indeed impossible to refute!!

Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Shimin then said, "Since the ministers have no objections to promoting water conservancy, then the matter of building branch canals on both sides of the Yongji Canal is settled."

"As for the specific planning, let the Ministry of Works discuss and come up with a plan."

"Duan Lun, I order you to be personally responsible for this matter."

"Your subject accepts the order!" Minister of Works Duan Lun immediately accepted.

Seeing that Li Shimin's gaze was still on him, Su Liang continued, "Whenever a great drought arrives, there are corresponding signs."

"If the signs of a great drought appear, will you all acknowledge what I said?"

"Before a great drought arrives, the water level will inevitably drop and the river will stop flowing; this is naturally clear."

"If it doesn't rain for a long time, we will naturally believe what the Prince of Chu said."

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui said in unison.

The court officials also acknowledged this one after another.

This was the effect Su Liang wanted. Seeing that the effect had been achieved, he then said, "Since everyone has no objections, how about we transport all the sweet potatoes and potatoes harvested at the end of last year to Shandong for planting? What do you all think?"

Su Liang had his own plans for this move. He could produce the materials for artificial rain, but sending them to an altitude of eight thousand meters was indeed difficult, and he did not know if he could make it in time before the summer planting.

Li Er waved his hand upon hearing this: "There is no need to discuss this matter further. It is merely sending some people to help with sowing; it is not a major affair. Let it be decided as such."

The court officials saw this and found nothing more to say.

This was indeed a minor matter; the land in Shandong was more fertile than that in Guanzhong, and presumably, the yield per mu would not be low; it would only cost a bit more manpower.

If more could be harvested, then more could be planted during the summer sowing.

After Li Er finished speaking, Su Liang continued: "Then, let us next discuss the matter of constructing roads..."

The court officials all cast their gazes toward Su Liang at this moment, waiting for his next words...

"If the common people volunteer to build the roads, what opinions do you ministers have?"

Su Liang looked at everyone in the hall with a smile on his face...

This included Li Er.

All things are difficult at the start, but Su Liang had already made up his mind on exactly how to proceed.

Once these words were spoken... the imperial court suddenly became noisy.

Wei Zheng immediately stood out and said slowly: "If it is truly so, naturally no one will call Your Majesty a muddled ruler."

"We ministers in the court will naturally have no objections!"

Following this, the civil and military officials all voiced their agreement one after another...

Su Liang looked at Li Er and said: "Your Majesty, since the ministers have no objections, please leave this matter to me to handle; I will certainly manage it properly."

"Oh... I wonder how my son-in-law intends to handle it?" Li Er asked.

Su Liang was speechless; could he not have said that in private?

Li Er doing this—was this not clearly putting the court officials on the spot...

Su Liang said helplessly: "The road from Changancheng to Taoyuan County was previously replanned and built, and the two roads about to be constructed mostly have good conditions; there is no need for over 1.6 million people to build them, one million is sufficient."

"With the 300,000 displaced people from last year, we are now only short of 700,000."

"Your Majesty can order the approximately 100,000 troops of the Lingjun Guard in the capital region and Hedong, as well as the approximately 100,000 troops of the Xiao Guard in Henan and Hebei, to assist in the construction."

"In this way, we are only short of 500,000 people, and I will continue to recruit workers."

"This... this..." Li Er was suddenly at a loss for words.

Su Liang was using money to pave the way!!

Everyone in the great hall was shocked; Su Liang was going to pay out of his own pocket to build the roads!!

Facing the astonishment of the crowd, Su Liang only smiled faintly...

Having money makes one willful!!

After the court was dismissed, Zhangsun Wuji immediately set off for the Dangxiang.

For this, Su Liang even gifted his own carriage to Zhangsun Wuji; he was, after all, his cheap father-in-law. Having already promised Li Er to send him one, one cannot be partial.

Upon returning to Furong Garden, Su Liang immediately called for Wang Xuance and arranged the matter: the construction of the roads would require one million people, with a six-month contract and a wage of one gold piece.

That very day, the news of Su Liang's massive recruitment spread throughout the Jingji region.

The common people told one another, and the registration offices in Changancheng and Taoyuan County were crowded with people, with over 500,000 signing up.

This included the 300,000 displaced people.

When the news of Su Liang's recruitment reached other prefectures and counties, over one million people had signed up in just three days.

Seeing that the number of people was sufficient, Su Liang revoked the notice that only one million were needed.

He expanded the recruitment to two million people so that the roads could be finished sooner, allowing for the construction of other roads.

By the time the news reached Hebei, Shandong, and other places, the number had already reached a full two million.

But at this time, the people of Hebei and Shandong were not satisfied; why should outsiders be needed to build roads on their own territory? They demanded that Su Liang recruit more people.

Su Liang had not expected the temptation of money to be so great; thinking about it carefully, it was because he had offered too high a wage.

In the current Great Tang, the average daily wage for commoners was less than 50 wen; over half a year, at most, they could only earn eight taels of silver.

Yet Su Liang was offering ten taels of silver.

To resolve their worries, Su Liang also provided food and lodging.

There was no help for it; the words had already been spoken, and it would not do to forbid the people of Hebei and Shandong from signing up.

Consequently, he directly lifted the limit on the number of workers.

After a full half-month...

The number of registered people was approaching four million.

The registered commoners covered the Jingji, Guannei, Hedong, Hebei, Henan, Shannan West, and Shannan East regions, accounting for a full small half of the Great Tang.

For this reason, Su Liang also had all the roads in the Guanlong, Hebei, and Shandong regions constructed.

The time frame remained six months; there were simply too many people to arrange them all on the two roads originally planned.

During this period, the court officials were all astonished...

A full four million people, one gold piece each, that was four million taels of gold.

Su Liang was also providing food and lodging... if all of that were converted into gold...

It was a full 500,000 jin of gold!!

Li Er, however, was overjoyed...

Su Liang's actions not only allowed for faster and more extensive road construction but also required no expenditure from the national treasury; he felt wonderful inside.

At the same time, good news came from Zhangsun Wuji's side...

The pacification work for the various Dangxiang tribes was proceeding very smoothly.

The reason was none other than Su Liang's suggestion that Li Er bring some good items for pacification; not only were there white sugar, snow salt, and Drunken Tang, but he also brought 100,000 stoves designed by Su Liang.

Of course, they were not given away for free, but were exchanged for vast amounts of gold, silver, treasures, cattle, sheep, and Ma Pi, and a portion was already being transported to Changancheng...

This was also Su Liang's strategy: to show both kindness and might while depleting their foundations!!

Not only that, Su Liang specifically instructed his cheap father-in-law: find a way to use Drunken Tang, snow salt, white sugar, and other items to trade for the Qinghai Steeds of the Tuyuhun, and he would arrange for merchant caravans to transport them continuously.

The Qinghai Steed was bred by the Tuyuhun by mating local horses with Persian Dayuan horses; because the foals were born and raised by the banks of Qinghai Lake, they were not only cold-resistant but could also travel a thousand li a day, hence the name "Qinghai Steed."