Chapter 232

As a loyal and devoted minister, the Minister of War was also thinking for Li Chen.

Only when Li Chen sat firmly on the throne would his status be stable.

Normally, a minister only needs to complete their own work.

But the Emperor is Li Chen, and they are willing to work harder and participate in the governance of the country.

Li Chen also understood what the Minister of War said; letting them bite each other like dogs wouldn't work either, so he would find an opportunity to solve them both.

Actually, the Prince of the South is the old and cunning one; by submitting this memorial, the Emperor would be embarrassed to take action against him.

He also didn't have any substantial evidence of rebellion, and his son had a good performance in the northern expedition and western expedition.

If he punished him directly, what would the high-level generals in various regions think? These were all problems Li Chen had to consider.

"Since he wants to be loyal, then I will let him be loyal enough."

Li Chen had already thought about how to handle the Prince of the South, so he had the Minister of War send someone to tell the Prince of the South to await orders.

This is you showing your loyalty; when the time comes for me to send you, if you don't listen, you will be punished.

Don't say I didn't give you a chance.

After the Minister of War obeyed the order, he exited the Imperial Study.

Having not returned for a period of time, Li Chen also began to get busy with political affairs.

Li Chen was relatively concerned about the construction of the "orbital train," which was the construction of the track from the May Tian Ce Dynasty's imperial capital to the most prosperous Yunhai City in the middle of the May Tian Ce Dynasty.

If this succeeded, it would facilitate the May Tian Ce Dynasty's management of its vast territory; the construction of the orbital train had already been going on for several months.

The joint memorial from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue wrote: The main track has been laid ninety percent, and the post stations, warehouses, and track-protecting arrays along the way are all complete; it will definitely be open to traffic within seven days.

This speed far exceeded Li Chen's expectations, and the reason was the all-out help from the powerful families and cultivation sects.

The Minister of Revenue, Liu Minghan, also followed Li Chen's idea and recruited many powerful families to participate, especially merchant families, who seemed to value this major project of the imperial court.

Plus, the ministers encouraged their own forces to participate in the investment, so there was no problem with funds at all.

And there was Prime Minister Zhao Zhao Wenyuan sitting in command personally, so no one dared to deduct silver here.

As long as there was money, the local idle people found work one after another; not only ordinary people, but even cultivators participated in it.

According to Zhao Zhao Wenyuan's report, the Nine Abyss Holy Domain, this sect alliance in the middle of the May Tian Ce Dynasty, responded to the call even more actively.

The four major sects, Lingyan Dao Sect, Ziyun Immortal Mansion, Tianyan Tianyan Shen Zong, and Qingming Immortal Sect, all contributed both people and effort.

The number of sects participating in the construction reached over a hundred, and the progress was also terrifying; cultivators themselves were strong.

Just as Li Chen said before, the May Tian Ce Dynasty is not afraid of having no people, but afraid of having not enough positions; the May Tian Ce Dynasty's "engineering team" has always been: as long as the money is in place, everything is not a problem.

Besides this, there were all kinds of detailed data written above.

The President of the Imperial Capital Chamber of Commerce, Qian Qian Wanguan, united the major merchant families of the imperial capital and contracted thirty percent of the iron track forging.

The furnace fires in the weapon-refining workshops of the major families in the Chamber of Commerce never went out day or night.

The Jiangnan grain merchant "Caoyun Chen Family" transported mysterious iron ore with a hundred cargo ships, arriving directly at the construction site ahead of time along the great river.

The "Xiliang Zou Clan" even offered the Cloud-Treading Rhinoceros beasts they had tamed for many years; these spirit beasts with infinite strength played a huge role in some sections of the road.

Li Chen understood after seeing this; it seems the Empress Dowager's family also wanted a share of the pie, even releasing the Zou Clan's spirit beasts; it could be said they had invested everything.

However, this kind of thing was allowed by Li Chen, and he encouraged powerful families to participate in the construction.

It is estimated that they also wanted to see how this pilot project would go; if the traffic was successful, the subsequent construction of other roads would all be good jobs.

In the data Li Chen checked, the contributions of sect cultivators were also very many.

Lingyan Dao Sect used exotic fire from heaven and earth to temper the iron tracks, making them indestructible and significantly increasing the service life of the tracks.

Ziyun Immortal Mansion set up a track-protecting grand array to prevent destruction by petty people and demonic beasts.

Tianyan Tianyan Shen Zong deduced the weather, avoiding all cloudy, rainy, and thunderstorm weather.

Qingming Immortal Sect even used the power of the entire sect to cut a dangerous peak and cliff into a smooth road, ensuring the track was unobstructed.

Prime Minister Zhao Zhao Wenyuan specially used red ink to mark: The various powerful families and sects demanded thirty percent of the future vehicle and horse tax; when the track forms a network, there will naturally be a new tax system to govern it.

These were all allowed by Li Chen; after all, these major forces invested, certainly to obtain benefits; without benefits, how could they be willing to pay.

Before the track ran through, walking from the imperial capital to Yunhai City took about 20 days, and riding a horse took about 7 days, and it was also affected by factors such as road conditions, weather, and horse fatigue, so the actual time would also fluctuate.

After the track was connected, it took only half a day from the imperial capital to Yunhai City; merchant teams, armies, and commoners could all arrive in the evening after leaving in the morning.

What's more wonderful is that those powerful families who invested huge sums of money had already been tied to the imperial court's chariot.

They were more afraid of the track having problems than anyone else, so they naturally became the most loyal protectors of the road.

After finishing the progress of the track construction, Li Chen's gaze came to the memorial from the north.

The north has a vast territory and rich resources; if it can be properly developed, it will definitely become another major economic pillar of the May Tian Ce Dynasty.

Animal husbandry and handicraft industries are certainly important, but Li Chen's gaze had long surpassed these traditional industries.

He thought of the tourism industry, an industry that ordinary people didn't even dare to think about before.

As long as the track construction continues to develop, ordinary people will certainly have the idea of wanting to visit the north.

The mountains and rivers in the north are magnificent, the grasslands are vast, the snow-capped mountains are towering, and the lakes are like mirrors; these are all natural tourism resources.

"Not just sightseeing, but also developing characteristic activities such as hunting, horse riding, and skiing," Li Chen calculated secretly in his heart.

In this way, the economy of the north will be greatly boosted, and it can even bring considerable tax revenue to the imperial court.

Thinking of this, Li Chen picked up his pen and wrote a few lines of instructions on the memorial, requiring the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue to jointly formulate a detailed plan for the development of northern tourism and implement it as soon as possible.

He also specially emphasized paying attention to environmental protection and avoiding excessive development that would damage the natural landscape of the north.

Next, Li Chen's gaze turned to the memorial passed over from the eastern region.

Although the last personal expedition was a great victory, the Sea Clan's desire for revenge was extremely strong and would never give up easily.

According to the report from the May Tian Ce Dynasty's Water Division Commander, the Sea Clan's activities had been a bit frequent recently.

And the secret letter from the Empress of the Tianwu Dynasty, Pei Pei Wanyu, also indicated that they had discovered quite a few Sea Clan spies, estimated to be the Sea Clan learning from the lessons of the last failure, preparing to know themselves and the enemy this time.

This was indeed a problem that Li Chen should make preparations for in advance.

But Li Chen already had a way; you Prince of the South said you are a loyal subject, so when the time comes, I will see if you listen to orders.

After getting busy, Li Chen saw Ji Ji Lianyu walk into the Imperial Study with pastries.

She also calculated the time before coming, because Li Chen was most exhausted at this time, and if someone served him, it would be very comfortable.

It just so happened that Ji Ji Lianyu was that woman who was very good at taking care of people, and her meticulous care made Li Chen very satisfied.

However, Ji Ji Lianyu also had something to ask Li Chen for this time when she entered the palace.

Li Chen could also see it and let her speak directly.

Ji Ji Lianyu indicated that the Prince of the South had locked up many members of the Ji family in the imperial prison and begged Li Chen to think of a way.

It could be seen that because many important personnel of the Ji family had moved to the imperial capital, the Prince of the South certainly had to clean up the Ji family.

Ji Ji Lianyu came here, actually, without holding too much hope.

The Prince of the South had the intention of rebellion and had long stopped listening to the imperial court's orders, so how could he listen to Li Chen.

But Ji Ji Lianyu always indicated that she had connections in the palace, so the family let her come and try.

"This is easy to handle; recently the Prince of the South has started to show loyalty to me, so I just need an imperial decree."

Li Chen indicated it was a small matter; if you came to find me a few days ago, I estimate I wouldn't have had too many ways, but now it's just a matter of convenience.

Ji Ji Lianyu was overjoyed upon hearing this; she felt more and more that choosing to serve Li Chen was a correct choice. If she could successfully help the Ji family this time, her status in the Ji family would also continuously rise; this was her pursuit all along.

To express her gratitude, Ji Ji Lianyu requested Li Chen to move to the Ji family mansion, where she and her sister had personally prepared delicious food for Li Chen.

Thinking of the Prince of the South's wife's figure, Li Chen felt a bit hot; it was indeed delicious food, and it had been a while since he had eaten it, so he agreed.

After finishing work, he certainly had to enjoy it well.

In the imperial capital, Li Chen wasn't the only one who returned from the western expedition.

Li Ling walked into the dark and damp imperial prison, her heart feeling conflicted; it was her first time coming to this place.

She was wearing the attire of a western expedition soldier, and when she walked in, the nearby jailers all stood straight.

Inside the cell, Prince Jing'an Li Li Longyu sat on a straw mat, his face haggard.

"Ling'er, you're back." Li Li Longyu's voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of excitement.

Li Ling nodded, her eyes slightly red: "Father, your daughter has come to see you."

Li Li Longyu smiled with relief and said: "Good, as long as you are back safely, Father is relieved. You made great contributions in this western expedition, and Father is proud of you."

!

Li Ling barely squeezed out a smile and said: "Father, don't worry, your daughter will make more military contributions and think of a way to save you."

Li Li Longyu shook his head, his expression serious: "Ling'er, you must not do anything stupid to save me. Father is a Prince after all, and I only need to be locked up here for a year; just endure it and it will pass. You just need to remember, you must not learn from your brother; you must follow His Majesty well. His Majesty is absolutely a sage emperor through the ages; following him, your future will be bright."

Li Li Longyu looked like a Prince with no ability, but the most important thing for a person is self-knowledge.

He had no ability, and in the past, he just hugged the late Emperor's thigh to get ahead.

He could see that Li Chen was absolutely a thigh, and a thigh that was unprecedentedly large.

In this world, hugging a thigh isn't shameful; some people want to hug a thigh but don't have the chance.

Li Ling nodded seriously: "Daughter understands; daughter will definitely listen to Father, and will also listen to Grand General Guo Guo Po Yun."

Just then, the jailer walked over and said seriously: "Time is up, Princess, please."

Li Ling stood up and looked at her father reluctantly.

The jailer's attitude was unexpectedly good, without the slightest disrespect.

Li Ling took out a silver ingot from her bosom, wanting to stuff it to the jailer.

The jailer waved his hand repeatedly: "Princess, this cannot be done; the Minister has already explained to take good care of the Prince, and this small one dare not accept it."

Li Ling forced it over, but it was still rejected by the jailer; she had to helplessly take back the silver.

After Li Ling left the Ministry of Justice's imperial prison, her heart was still worried about her father's affairs.

Not long after walking out, her husband Chen Xuannan quietly walked over.

Chen Xuannan looked around nervously, then took Li Ling to a place with few people.

He whispered: "Princess, don't go back to the mansion first; the Wang Shizi's people seem to be near the mansion gate. If you don't want to see them, I can help you send them away."

Li Ling was shocked upon hearing this: "What? Li Yang still dares to find me? Is he that bold?"

Chen Xuannan snorted coldly: "For a person like him, finding you at this time definitely has no good intentions. You finally accumulated so many military contributions; there's no need to get involved with him. If the Ministry of Justice finds out, you will immediately be handled."

Chen Xuannan and Li Yang had a very bad relationship, so he felt Li Yang deserved it for being wanted, he just didn't want to see Li Ling implicated.

Li Ling looked at Chen Xuannan gratefully: "Xuannan, thank you; go help me send those people away."

In her view, it was good enough that she didn't sell her brother to invite credit as a sister, so he still dared to find her? Truly harming her.

Chen Xuannan nodded and turned to leave.

Li Ling stood in place waiting for news; just then, a mysterious figure quietly appeared beside her.

That person was wearing a black cloak, with a half-mask on his face, revealing only a pair of deep eyes.

"Who are you?" Li Ling was very vigilant.

The mysterious person smiled slightly, didn't answer directly, but directly handed a note to Li Ling, then said: "This is from the Wang Shizi for you, saying you will know after reading it."

After handing the note to Li Ling, this mysterious person disappeared nearby.

Zui Xian Lou, here gathered many young generals from the western expedition.

Prince Prince Anxi Li Ji also had an outstanding performance in the western expedition and was familiar with these young generals.

Today he also spent quite a bit of silver, inviting his brothers to drink here and consolidate everyone's feelings.

Among them, besides Liu Hao and Xu Xu Zifeng, there were Ma Hei and seven young generals with good relationships, and even Wu Qi was pulled over.

Now Wu Qi was also a hot person in the imperial capital; after all, his background was there.

When Wu Qi first entered the Ministry of War, he was thick-skinned and participated in various drinking parties, wanting to know these big officials.

After his background was exposed, people invited him to participate in various gatherings every day; everyone wanted to have a good relationship with him; this was the treatment he enjoyed after being taken care of by Li Chen.

Today, Prince Prince Anxi was the host, so Wu Qi certainly had to give face.

Originally, Li Ji also invited Xiao Ming and Lin Mo, but Xiao Ming wasn't in the imperial capital, and Lin Mo was too busy now, so he didn't have time at all.

Actually, Xu Xu Zifeng didn't plan to come; he had no interest in making friends with this group of people and only thought about returning to the south.

It was just that upon returning to the imperial capital, he received a secret letter from the Prince of the South, pausing the rebellion plan, and letting him develop normally in the imperial capital first, so he reluctantly went out.

After three rounds of drinking, Xu Xu Zifeng excused himself and left, using the excuse of not being able to hold his liquor.

He let Ma Hei continue drinking, not needing to accompany him, and headed alone to the place he was thinking about, which was the Ji family.

The reason he fought so hard in this western expedition was to obtain military contributions, so that his aunt and mother would be free from the harm of the imperial court.

As the young master of the Ji family, the gatekeepers naturally didn't dare to stop him.

Because the Ji family had been developing here for a period of time, the scale of the Ji family also began to grow, even more magnificent than before.

"Strange, are Mother and Aunt not here?"

Not seeing the Prince of the South's wife and Ji Ji Lianyu in the hall, Xu Xu Zifeng came to the backyard.

He first came to the courtyard where the Prince of the South's mansion lived, found that his mother wasn't there, and then came to his aunt Ji Ji Lingyu's room.

The light was on here, so he began to knock on the door, asking if anyone was inside.

Then he heard his aunt Ji Ji Lianyu's voice, which was a bit nervous and hurried.

Aunt asked him to wait outside the door first, and Xu Xu Zifeng naturally stood outside the door.

After a while, Ji Ji Lianyu walked out and closed the door behind her.

At this moment, her face was flushed, her breathing was a bit hurried, and there was a trace of crystal "saliva" at the corner of her mouth.

Fortunately, Xu Xu Zifeng was full of alcohol, otherwise he would have been able to smell some scent.

"So Xu Zifeng is back; I heard you performed bravely in the western expedition." Ji Ji Lingyu still cared about this nephew.

"That's right, I grew up in the military camp since I was a child; fighting is a small problem for me, but where is my mother?" Xu Xu Zifeng asked curiously.

"Your mother caught a cold and is resting in my room."

Ji Ji Lianyu also began to make it up, the purpose being not to let Xu Xu Zifeng enter the room.

But upon hearing this, Xu Xu Zifeng wanted to visit his mother even more.

This scared the Prince of the South's wife inside; she was so nervous, and it also gave her an unprecedented experience.

Ji Ji Lingyu also tried to persuade him, indicating she would take good care of her sister, which stopped Xu Xu Zifeng from entering the room.

To show his concern, Xu Xu Zifeng simply stayed in the room next door, which made the Prince of the South's wife not dare to breathe loudly all night.

(End of chapter)