area51novel Chapter 2659 All Given to the Imperial Court
Chapter 2659 All Given to the Imperial Court
Just as Li Shimin was about to get angry, he suddenly seemed to remember something.
“You have 3,500 guards from the Prince Ji’s residence, several thousand retired guards from the Prince Ji’s residence, and more than 2,000 troops from Xizhou, plus these 5,000 people.”
This already amounts to 15,000 soldiers.
But don't forget, you also have a huge pirate crew under your command, which already numbers nearly ten thousand.
In other words, you, this rebellious son, now command tens of thousands of troops.
Tenth Prince, you've been secretly making good progress all these years. I really underestimated you.
I thought you were only talented in business, but I never expected you to be so outstanding in strategizing. Do you perhaps aspire to be like King Goujian of Yue?
Li Shimin was shocked when he did the math. He calculated that his rebellious son actually had tens of thousands of soldiers.
Apart from the emperor, no one in the entire Tang Dynasty had as much power as Li Shen.
Li Shen had shops and post stations in every prefecture and county, and his influence and speed of information transmission were second only to the imperial court.
In many cases, they even learned the news before the imperial court did.
Because local officials have to consider the pros and cons after learning about the matter, and whether reporting it will have a negative impact on them, they often choose to suppress it.
Li Shen's postmaster never considered this matter, but knowing it was a big deal, he immediately sent a messenger on horseback to report it.
Money, soldiers, and information—aren't these the three essential elements of rebellion?
“Father, please calm down. There are tens of thousands of troops there, but even if you count them all, it’s no more than thirty thousand,” Li Shen explained.
“Back then, when my Li family raised an army in Taiyuan, we only had 30,000 men!” Li Shimin said angrily.
This rebellious son actually thinks 30,000 men aren't enough? When his family started their rebellion, they only had 30,000 men.
"Father, the five thousand slave soldiers and pirate crews of Japan will all belong to the imperial court in the future. The pirate crews can serve as the strongest navy of our Great Tang Dynasty."
In the future, it can expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
As I've said before, the world is vast, and although my Great Tang Dynasty is rich in resources, it is still just a small place compared to the whole world.
Beyond the sea lies a world far more expansive than the Tang Dynasty, a land of fertile soil, and abundant in grains that our Tang Dynasty lacks.
There are mountains of gold and silver there too...sigh~~~
Li Shen paused for a moment, then a flash of inspiration struck him. He stood up abruptly, went to his desk, picked up a pen, and began to write rapidly.
A moment later he wrote a few words on the paper.
"Bring it here." Li Shimin remained calm and unperturbed by Li Shen's unreasonable behavior. He simply waved to Wang De after Li Shen finished writing.
Wang De immediately stepped forward and snatched the paper from in front of Li Shen, giving Li Shen no chance to react.
Li Shimin picked up the paper and glanced at it. He could barely make out the words written on it, but they had no connection whatsoever.
"Gold Mountain." "Everywhere." "One day equals a year." "Returning home in glory."
"Hmm? What do you mean by writing this?" Li Shimin put down the paper and asked with a puzzled look.
Li Shen also came over at this time.
"Well... it's nothing really, Father. I just suddenly remembered some business matters and was afraid I'd forget them when I got back."
Li Shen explained, but it was clear he wasn't telling the truth.
"Business?" Li Shimin picked up the paper again. He was most interested in the words "Gold Mountain". Could it be that Li Shen had found Gold Mountain?
No, the gold and silver mountains belong to the imperial court; how can they be mined privately?
"Li Shen, you've become obedient again. Do you still want to taste the family law?" Li Shimin picked up the family law and slapped it loudly in his hand.
Each blow made Li Shen involuntarily shudder.
"Father, I'm innocent! It really is a business matter," Li Shen immediately protested.
Li Shimin snorted coldly when he saw that Li Shen was not behaving honestly:
"Hmph, what does this 'golden mountain' mean? Does it mean you've found a gold mine, with gold everywhere, where digging for a day is equivalent to a year's work, enough to make someone return home in glory?"
"Holy crap!!" Li Shen couldn't help but swear, his face full of disbelief. His father was too amazing; he had actually strung together the words he had written, making them completely different from what he wanted to express.
Almost exactly the same.
Li Shen was startled. It wasn't scary that his father knew what he had said and done; it was normal for him to have his father's spies around him.
But I hadn't even said what I was thinking, and now someone had already revealed the secret. Could it be that the worm in my stomach was also my father's spy?
Li Shen couldn't help but touch his stomach.
"Hmph, I actually guessed right! You audacious rebellious son, do you even know that all gold and silver mines belong to the imperial court?"
"I have already shown you great leniency by not punishing you for illegally occupying the iron mine. Now you even want to embezzle the gold mine; you are becoming increasingly outrageous."
Seeing Li Shen's surprised expression, Li Shimin assumed that he had guessed Li Shen's thoughts.
His words were filled with unusual anger.
“Father, where can I find mountains of gold and silver? I have reported my whereabouts to you for the past year.”
There was no time to go find Jinshan either. "Li Shen realized this and quickly complained.
"Then what do you mean by writing this on the paper?" Li Shimin asked, pointing at the paper.
"This... really is an idea that my son came up with to do business. Father, Japan has gold and silver mountains, but we haven't found them yet."
"But don't worry, Father, I'm sending people to search for it. I'll let you know as soon as I find it."
Li Shen patted his chest and assured him. What he wrote really had nothing to do with Jinshan, but he couldn't say it in front of his father, or he would easily get a beating.
After all, this is against nature and inhumane.
"Really?" Li Shimin looked at Li Shen with suspicion.
Li Shen raised his hand again:
"I swear..."
"Alright, alright, remember this: from now on you are not allowed to make any more oaths. If you break them, you will be punished for deceiving the emperor, your property will be confiscated, you will be exiled, and all your property will be confiscated."
Seeing Li Shen about to swear another oath, Li Shimin felt a chill run down his spine.
Whoever this scourge is, they take it and swear an oath, and all of those oaths are lies. What if one day it's your turn to swear an oath?
Even our ancestors couldn't stand being constantly nagged by him.
"Huh? Then... then I'll receive the decree." Li Shen was somewhat disappointed, but he swore that this was the best way to lie at this moment.
People in this era had great faith in oaths, especially oaths made by their ancestors, which were considered highly credible.
Now look what's happened, my father sealed away one of my ultimate skills with a single decree.
"The five thousand guards from Japan must be placed under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. I will give you a secret decree for future use."
I will also inform the Crown Prince and ask him to reveal this to the Duke of Zhao and the others at the appropriate time.
However, to avoid alerting Japan, you will temporarily take over the administration.
In any case, these five thousand men should not be in Li Shen's hands. Whether for the sake of the court or for Li Shen's own good, they should belong to the court's troops.