Li Zhi, don't be a coward

Chapter 917 Discussion on Reward
Datang is quite cautious in rewarding meritorious deeds and punishing others.

Of course, it was a bit chaotic at the beginning of the founding of the country, including Li Ji, Cheng Yaojin and other famous generals, who were a little bit chaotic or exaggerated. It was not until the Zhenguan year that the rules gradually came into being, and the famous generals also restrained a lot.

After Li Zhi came to the throne, by taking down the eldest grandson Wuji, he gave the court a strong prestige, and he was even stricter about rewards and punishments, especially in terms of promotion to officials and ranks.

Because the title, although it is a great honor for the courtiers and an iron bowl for the descendants of the heroes, it still does more harm than good to the imperial power.

Therefore, after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, from Li Shimin to Li Zhi, they all intentionally or unintentionally reduced the titles as much as possible, and rarely increased them.

Li Qinzai is a special case. He has made too many contributions in the past, and has reached the point where he has to be knighted.

As for Li Qinzai's introduction of sweet potatoes, of course Li Zhi also wanted to promote him to the title immediately, but at that time many courtiers advised against it, and Li Qinzai also humbly evaded it again and again, so it was inconvenient for Li Zhi to insist.

To this day, the second season of sweet potatoes planted in the south is actually in front of Li Zhi. As the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi is delighted with the sweet potato production and the permanent state of the country. How could he forget Li Qinzai?

The first harvest was only a few dozen catties, and there was no definite yield per mu. This was the second harvest, with more than 2000 catties clearly in front of us. Can't prove Li Qinzai's credit?
The credit is too great, if Li Zhi doesn't say something, he will be ashamed.

Empress Wu watched Li Zhi pacing back and forth in front of a pile of sweet potatoes, her expression was also very excited.

No matter how the husband and wife fight at home, Datang's national fortune is still closely related to her. Of course, she also hopes that Datang will get better and better.

After walking around for a few laps, Li Zhi suddenly stopped, turned his head to look at Empress Wu, and said, "Queen, it seems that Jingchu hasn't been promoted to an official title for a long time since he was conferred the title of county marquis?"

Empress Wu smiled peacefully, and said: "Your Majesty, Jing Chu is a laid-back character, and he has no ambitions for court officials. My concubine remembers that His Majesty said several times that he wanted to promote his title, but he refused. Not only that, Your Majesty wants to promote him. He also hid from his official position."

"So now Jingchu only has the title of Marquis of Weinan County, and he doesn't even have an official position. He is really an idle Marquis."

Li Zhi laughed, and said: "That's right, Jing Chu's problem is what I'm most dissatisfied with. It's reassuring that a courtier has no ambitions, but... he can't be so idle. It's really outrageous. I have never I have never seen such a lazy person."

Empress Wu's eyes flickered, and she said tentatively, "Your Majesty, do you want the title of Jin Jingchu?"

Li Zhi stared at the sweet potato in front of him silently for a long time, then sighed: "If not, why would I reward him?"

Pointing to the pile of sweet potatoes in front of him, Li Zhi said with a smile: "This thing is of great significance to the Tang Dynasty, and the empress must also be aware of it. Can I pretend not to see Jing Chu's outstanding achievements?"

Empress Wu pursed her lips a few times, but in a moment she smiled sweetly: "The concubine thinks that Jing Chu can accept it calmly."

Li Zhi glanced at her with a smile.

Since the case of Mrs. Wei Guo, Li Zhi beat her severely once, and cut off most of her wings in the court, Empress Wu has been very obedient recently.

Li Zhi's mood has gradually become more joyful recently, and the day before yesterday he even took the initiative to invite her to sleep with her. After many years, the couple had a night of fish and dragon dances, and both husband and wife got the sublimation of spirit and flesh that was rare in recent years.

No matter inside or outside, this is the shape that a queen should have, taking the shape of her husband as the shape.

Looking at the well-behaved and sensible Empress Wu, Li Zhi secretly smiled.

Sure enough, when the mother-in-law floats up, she must be ruthlessly cleaned up. Since she is hard but not soft, I can completely satisfy her.

After pondering for a moment, Li Zhi said slowly: "Come here, summon the left and right ministers, attendants of the West Terrace Hall, six ministers and other court officials to enter the palace..."

After a pause, Li Zhi suddenly said again: "Send a soft sedan chair to Yinggong's mansion, and invite Yinggong to enter the palace to meet... Yinggong is old, so be careful when lifting the sedan chair, don't jolt the old man."

An hour later, all the ministers rushed into the palace according to the order.

Among the courtiers who entered the palace, only British Duke Li Ji received the highest treatment. He was carried in by the palace people in a soft sedan chair.

All the ministers could only watch Li Ji get off the sedan chair outside the Tai Chi Hall with envy, but they couldn't feel any jealousy.

This is the treatment that the meritorious deeds of the three dynasties have fought hard for decades. They deserve it and cannot be jealous.

Li Zhi was waiting outside the Taiji Hall. On the vast open space outside the hall, there were more than [-] catties of sweet potatoes piled up. It was the harvest of King Teng's visit to the south of the Yangtze River to supervise and supervise the planting of new crops.

All the ministers climbed up the steps and came outside the hall. Seeing that Li Zhi was already waiting, they all paid homage to him.

After saluting, everyone saw the mountains of sweet potatoes in front of Li Zhi.

Everyone was stunned, but Li Ji's cloudy old eyes flashed a bright light, and then quickly fell silent.

After the ceremony, Li Zhi chatted with everyone with a smile. The monarchs and ministers each had questions and answers, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

In terms of the emperor's attitude towards his subjects, Li Zhi did better than Li Shimin.

No matter loyal or treacherous, Li Zhi is very close and easy-going to all his courtiers. He usually likes to joke a few words with his courtiers, or the parents of the east and the poor of the west. After laughing, the distance between each other is even closer.

Today Li Zhi chose to summon all his ministers outside the Taiji Hall, and all the ministers he summoned were important ministers of the current dynasty, either the prime minister or the minister and the general, especially in the venue where there were mountains of sweet potatoes.

The ministers were surprised, but it was not convenient to ask, so they chatted with Li Zhi for a long time.

In the end, the right minister Xu Jingzong couldn't help asking.

To say that Xu Jingzong's mind is really clever, he knew that Li Zhi would not put a lot of sweet potatoes in front of him for no reason. Occasionally cheer for the emperor, and don't let the atmosphere fall to the ground.

Li Zhi smiled slightly, just waiting for Xu Jingzong's question.

So Li Zhi pointed to the sweet potato in front of him, and said with a smile, "Do you know what this is?"

Most of the courtiers present followed Li Zhi to Ganjingzhuang and witnessed the harvest of sweet potatoes. Naturally, they were no strangers to this thing, so they gave the answer in unison.

Li Zhi asked again with a smile: "Everyone knows, what is the yield per mu of this thing?"

Another sub-question, I heard Li Qinzai brag when I was in Ganjingzhuang, so the ministers gave the answer again.

Li Zhi nodded: "That's right, five thousand catties. Since the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, have you ever heard of any crops with a yield of five thousand catties per mu?"

All the ministers shook their heads, an excellent teaser must follow the teaser's thinking, teaser needs to talk about what to talk about, just say what to talk to, don't make it difficult for your job.

Seeing that all the ministers followed his train of thought with dignity and gave the correct answer, Li Zhi expressed his relief.

Pointing to the sweet potato in front of him again, Li Zhi said slowly: "This is the second season of sweet potato harvest that Uncle Teng brought from Jiangnan, totaling more than two thousand catties, covering an area of ​​less than half an acre..."

"After the two harvests, it can now be confirmed that sweet potatoes are indeed just as Weinan County Hou Li Qinzai said, and the yield of [-] catties per mu is not much more."

The ministers were stunned for a moment, and then there was an uproar in shock.

When I first saw the sweet potato harvest in Ganjing Village, there were only a few sweet potato seeds in total, and the harvest was only tens of catties, so the officials were surprised, but they didn't feel much.

After all, Li Qinzai pointed to dozens of catties of sweet potatoes and swore that the yield per mu would be five thousand catties. That picture is really not convincing.

But now, the harvest in the second season is more than 2000 catties, and the hills are usually piled up in front of the Tai Chi Hall. The picture at this moment is completely different from the original one.

Although they don't want to believe it, everyone has to believe it.Because the facts are right in front of you.

After the shock, the officials quickly thought of the significance of a grain crop with an output of [-] catties per mu to the country and the common people, so they became more and more horrified, and their expressions of astonishment quickly turned into surprise.

"I congratulate Your Majesty, the country will last forever!"

All the ministers saluted together, Li Zhixin looked up to the sky and laughed.

This is not an exaggeration. With a grain yield of [-] catties per mu, wouldn't the country be "permanent"?
So, next...

Li Zhi tried his best to hold back his laughter, and said, "Let me ask all the gentlemen, which is more important to the Great Tang than those who opened up territories and expanded thousands of miles?"

The ministers are not stupid, of course they know the answer.

In the long river of history, the expansion of territory is only a temporary benefit of the dynasty. No matter how big the territory of the past dynasties is, it can range from decades to hundreds of years. Once the dynasty declines, the territories acquired at the beginning will inevitably be lost. This is an undeniable truth through the ages .

However, no matter how the dynasties change, a kind of grain with a yield of [-] catties per mu will never be lost once it is popularized.

If the emperors of the past dynasties were dug out of the ground and asked whether they should choose a new grain with a huge yield per mu or a territory of thousands of miles, as long as they were not extremely fatuous emperors, their answer would definitely be grain.

Because the country is eternal, it is directly equated with food, not the territory to be developed.

After a long silence, Li Zhi finally heard the answers of the ministers, and he was very satisfied with the answers of the people.

After the ministers entered the palace, Li Zhi asked several questions one after another. At the beginning, the ministers were still confused and didn't know why the emperor asked the question.

However, all those present were important ministers of the court, old foxes who were better than each other. After Li Zhi asked questions one after another, everyone gradually got the taste, so they all glanced at Li Ji as if they had some understanding.

In the crowd, Li Ji's old eyes were half-closed, he remained as silent as a wood carving, as if he didn't know anything about his affairs.

Li Zhi also glanced at Li Ji quickly, then looked around at the officials, and said slowly: "This thing is more important than opening up thousands of miles of territory, so... how should I reward those who discover this thing?"

"It is not an exaggeration to say that the sweet potato appeared in the Tang Dynasty. It is an extraordinary feat, right? You think, can I turn a blind eye to the person who made this feat and treat it as if it never happened?"

The ministers are not only flattering, but also excellent flattering. They know very well what the answer the emperor needs is.

When should I follow the words of the emperor, and when can I instantly tell that what the emperor said is irony.

As soon as Li Zhi said this, Xu Jingzong, who was the most intelligent, immediately answered.

"Your Majesty, I think that the person who discovered the sweet potato has made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty and must be rewarded heavily. If he has meritorious service, he will not be rewarded. Wouldn't it chill the hearts of all the heroes in the world?"

(End of this chapter)