Li Shimin

Chapter 840
To Li Xuan's astonishment, the camp of the Thunder Army turned out to be a block of concrete houses.

There are hundreds of these concrete houses, and they all look like new houses that have only been built for a few months. Obviously, they were specially built for the Thunder Army.

After walking around with Li Chenglu, Li Xuan couldn't help feeling deeply.

Sure enough, there are infrastructure madmen everywhere!
At night, Li Ji, the leader of the Thunder Army, as well as Xue Rengui, Li Chongyi, Cheng Chusi and other generals gathered in the camp to welcome Li Shimin.

Moreover, there are specially vacant houses, enough for Li Xuan, Li Shimin and others to live in.

Obviously, Li Shimin had already notified Li Ji before he came.

Because Li Shimin's private visit this time was via Weibo, all the officials in Huazhou, even Li Chengqian and Wang Xuance from Weinan County, did not know about the arrival of Li Shimin, Li Xuan and others.

All night.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Li Shimin and Li Xuan and his party got into the carriage, left the camp, and started heading to Weinan County.

However, just after the few people left the camp and went down the hill, the convoy stopped before they had walked ten miles.

On the side of the road, there were actually a group of young and old peasants standing on the bank of the Wei River not far away against the cold wind.

Among them, a group of old men and some half-grown boys piled up piles of firewood in the fields and beside the Weihe River, and then lit them.

On the side, there are a group of young and strong men, wearing thick gloves and hats, holding picks, iron shovels, and shovels. After the firewood is burned, they start digging holes on the ground!

It doesn't matter if there are 200 people like this.

However, as far as the eye can see, all the banks of the Wei River are full of darkness, and there are piles and piles of common people!
In such a situation, there must be official uniforms to recruit the people!
"Li Wei, what are these people doing?"

Seeing through the glass on the carriage was a bit incomplete, Li Shimin got out of the carriage directly, stood on the shaft of the carriage, looked at it for a while, and then asked with a serious face.

Li Shimin, who has worn soldiers, can figure out that there are at least tens of thousands of people with just a cursory glance.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty……"

At this moment, Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and others also got off the carriage behind, and walked to Li Shimin's side with a solemn expression.

What is Weinan County doing to recruit people in winter?
Li Wei bowed his hands respectfully to Li Shimin, and reported: "Reporting to Your Majesty, some time ago, His Highness the Crown Prince seemed to have mapped out the watersheds and fields of the entire Weinan County with the young men in preparation for the construction of water conservancy.

Therefore, at the end of the day, these ordinary people should be digging ditches and building ditches..."

"what?"

Hearing this, the expressions of Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and others at the side changed, and they quickly looked at the piles of ordinary people in the distance again.

The more I look at it, the more I feel that these people are really building water conservancy projects as Li Wei said!

"Humph!"

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Li Shimin snorted coldly, his face darkened.

"Let's go, wait and see with me, why do these common people brave the cold winter to come out to build water conservancy!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji obviously thought of something, and they looked ugly.

However, seeing that Li Shimin had walked towards a group of people angrily, he hurriedly followed.

On the other hand, Li Wei hurriedly led a team of personal guards to keep up with the guards.

The rest of the bodyguards stood in place to guard the carriage and kept vigilant everywhere!
"Aye, His Majesty seems to be angry?"

Seeing Li Shimin rushing away angrily, Li Chenglu cautiously raised his head to look at Li Xuan, and asked with some fear.

"No problem! Your Majesty is not mad at you!"

Li Xuan smiled lightly and said, "However, since you have already left Chang'an, you can't call Your Majesty Uncle His Majesty outside, you only need to call Uncle His Majesty!"

Hearing that he was not angry with him, Li Chenglu felt relieved, and then he looked puzzled again.

"Aye, why is that?"

"Your Majesty's visit is just a private visit, and he just doesn't want others to know his identity!" Li Xuan explained.

"I see!"

Li Chenglu nodded seriously, "Don't worry, Aye, Chenglu will definitely not reveal Uncle's identity!"

"Very good, I'll follow up and have a look!"

Li Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, Ayer!"

Li Chenglu's face brightened, and he hurriedly followed Li Xuan forward.

When Li Xuan led Li Chenglu to catch up with Li Shimin, Li Shimin had already led Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and others around a group of old farmers.

"Old man, the land is frozen stiff in such a severe winter, why do so many people come out to dig ditches? But the Weinan county magistrate is a stupid person who doesn't even understand this common sense?"

Although I don't know who Li Shimin and others are, but the old man who has lived for decades and has already matured can see that Li Shimin and others are important figures, otherwise he would not dare to scold a county magistrate like this.

Therefore, he was still very respectful to Li Shimin and others, and even a little afraid that Li Shimin would blame the magistrate of Weinan County, so they all said quickly.

"Returning to this nobleman, digging ditches, we all came here voluntarily, and I don't blame the county magistrate!"

"Exactly, digging ditches is a matter of benefit to us and the common people. We all came here voluntarily to dig ditches!"

"The county magistrate told us before that it is best to dig ditches in spring or autumn. We all know this truth. However, I can't wait for spring or autumn next year.

Moreover, in the spring, I can do some other work to make a living for the family.Coincidentally, although the weather is very cold and the ground is stiff and difficult to dig, the Weihe River is frozen and the water flow is weakened, so it is suitable for me to dig ditches again!
Moreover, these months I have just been staying at home with nothing to do.It's better to go out and dig a ditch to save the next spring. I can't finish it, and it will be bad if it delays the farming season! "

"..."

After hearing these old peasants, they were all trying to excuse the magistrate of Weinan County. Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and others looked slightly relieved, but they were still full of doubts.

"However, in such an extremely cold weather, the ground is frozen as hard as a rock, so it's completely half the effort for you to work here. Even, after a long time, it is easy to freeze your ears, hands and feet, and the gain outweighs the loss!"

Hearing this, all the old farmers couldn't help but smile triumphantly.

"Hehe, this nobleman may not know that our magistrate of Weinan County is a gentleman from Chang'an City. I heard that his family is quite powerful. Originally, he also wanted me to wait until the spring, when the land is soft before starting.

However, the county magistrate is of a noble background, and he doesn't know the sufferings of these peasants like us. "

"In the past, I stayed at home during the cold winter and couldn't come out to work because I couldn't make money when I went out. After exerting my strength, it was easy to consume food, and the gain outweighed the loss. If my ears, hands and feet were damaged by freezing again, it would be a big loss. up!
And now, our Weinan county magistrate has told us that as long as I come out to work, each strong man will be paid five Wen a day, two catties of grain, one tael of bacon, and one tael of salt, and as long as we finish one tael One day, one day will be given, and there will be no default.

As for the useless old men and youngsters like me, although they can’t get so much, they can get half of it, three Wen of money, one catty of grain, half a tael of bacon, and half a tael of salt, which is also a daily payment. "

"Hey, I can earn so much money and food in winter, but I can't even think about things in my life. Who would be stupid to stay at home and not come out to work?"

"Exactly, I'm waiting..."

Hearing this, Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and said suspiciously.

"Wait, this old man just said that the Weinan county magistrate will not let you wait for Han Dong to come out to work, why is he giving you so much money every day to encourage you to come out and work?"

"Forehead!"

All the old farmers were taken aback for a moment, and then they all looked up and down again at Li Shimin and the others.

However, the previous respect was gone, and his tone was a little indifferent.

"I don't know who the nobles are? No matter what the nobles say, I and the magistrate of Weinan County are good officials. Please don't bully him!
As for what this nobleman suspects, the county magistrate really does not let me wait until the cold winter to come out to work, and he gives me so much money and food every day, because the county magistrate recruits me to wait until next spring to dig ditches Dig what he said wages.

It's just that we people can't wait for the spring of the coming year, so we all went to the county magistrate one after another to dig ditches before it snowed.The county magistrate saw that we were sincere, so he agreed! "

"I see!"

Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and the others couldn't help showing a hint of joy on their faces.

As long as the little bastards in their family don't bully the people, they can do whatever they want!

"Thanks to the old men for telling me that I was just a passing court official. Seeing so many people digging ditches here, I thought the magistrate of Weinan County was incompetent and harmed the people, so I rushed to check it out!"

After letting go, Li Shimin explained slowly with a smile on his face.

"Thank you for your concern!"

Knowing the purpose of Li Shimin and others' visit, the old farmers were also full of gratitude.

"The county magistrate is a good official, and he would never harm us. After knowing that we were going to work in the cold winter, the county magistrate bought tens of thousands of sets of woolen gloves and woolen clothes from the Datang shop. !
According to legend, such warm clothes are not only extremely expensive, but are only sold in Tang Dynasty shops, and they are hard to find..."

As they said that, those old farmers noticed the weird look on the faces of Li Shimin and the others, as if they realized something, they quickly smiled sarcastically, made a haha, and quickly changed the subject.

"Gentlemen may not know that the county magistrate is not only approachable, he has been patrolling the countryside since he took office; a few days ago, he also said that if we insist on digging ditches in this cold winter weather, we can go to the court to ask for instructions. I bought a few magical weapons and helped me dig ditches!"

"What magic weapon?"

Changsun Wuji asked curiously.

"I also ask this nobleman to forgive me, I don't know about it!"

An old farmer smiled and said: "I have never heard of the equipment that can help us dig ditches and ditches in the cold winter. If there is such a god in the world, it will definitely be collected by the imperial court." Strictly strict, how can it be used in Weinan County and used by these lowly peasants like me?
In order not to embarrass the county magistrate, we immediately started digging ditches spontaneously! "

"Did you not ask the county government for such a grand move?"

Hearing this, Fang Xuanling was shocked, and quickly asked: "Then you are not afraid of a hard day, the county government doesn't know, and won't give you wages and food?"

"Thank you for your reminders!"

The old farmer grinned slowly, and said indifferently: "The sweater we are wearing was directly issued to us by the county magistrate, and the price of a sweater is already worth it for me to wait for a whole winter.

Moreover, the county magistrate conscripted us to dig ditches and ditches, and in the end it all benefited us and the common people...

However, the county magistrate will never lie to us.

Early in the morning, we have already sent someone to report to the county magistrate! "

"It seems that the county magistrate of Weinan County has deep trust in your heart!"

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction.

"It's natural!"

All the old farmers nodded their heads with emotion, "In the past, which county magistrate didn't sit in the county government all day long. But this little county magistrate, since he came to Weinan, besides handling official duties, he brought his guards all day long. Visit every township and village, punish evil and promote good, deal with all kinds of injustice, love the people like children..."

These old farmers once again praised Li Chengqian and others, and Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and was in a good mood.

This was the first time for him to hear the people of Tang Dynasty praise his own prince like this, and he was much happier than thousands of people praised him as His Majesty of Tang Dynasty!
On the other side, Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and the others were also full of joy, looking at these old farmers in front of them, they felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment!

"Aye, the land is frozen again!"

Suddenly, there was a shout from the side.

Li Shimin, Li Xuan and the others looked back and found that at some time, those dozens of young men had already dug a ditch two feet deep and three feet long on the ground.

However, due to the freezing cold, these young adults can only go half a finger deep into the soil every time they go down with a pickaxe, and there is a dull sound. Obviously, after a lot of effort, the ground is frozen again!
Seeing this, all the old farmers looked anxious, and quickly turned their heads to Li Shimin and cupped their hands.

"Please forgive me, my lord. The cold wind is too strong. Now the land is frozen again. The old man is going to collect some firewood and continue to burn the land!"

"It's me who disturbed you old men, old man, please do your own thing!" Li Shimin apologized.

Soon, a group of old farmers and a group of half-grown boys disappeared into the woods behind them.

"Proprietor?"

Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and others stepped forward, looking at Li Shimin expectantly.

"Go ahead, see and talk!"

After looking up for a while, Li Shimin said slowly.

"Yes!"

Fang Xuanling and grandson Wuji agreed.

As for Li Xuan, he was dragged around Li Shimin by Li Chenglu who was curious about everything.

Afterwards, Li Shimin walked forward to several villages for a certain distance, and asked several old farmers.

It was found that these old farmers respected the magistrate of Weinan County very much and praised them unceasingly.

Therefore, Li Shimin was relieved, and he was in a good mood.

"Go, I'll wait to enter the city!"

"Yes, proprietor!"

Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and the others responded quickly, that at this time of year, standing by the river, the cold wind whizzes like a knife into the neck and shoes.

After such a short time, they were all shivering from the cold.

Hearing this, Li Xuan also pulled Li Chenglu into the carriage.

Soon, the convoy followed the avenue and headed straight for Weinan County.

"Boom..."

Suddenly, a muffled sound came into the carriage.

Li Xuan's expression changed, the sound was definitely the sound of a bomb exploding!
"alert!"

Outside the car, Li Wei, Zheng Fu and other guards also reacted, and immediately looked around vigilantly.

……

(End of this chapter)