Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 612
Although Gao Ming is impulsive sometimes, it doesn't mean he is stupid.

He knew that he had offended Li Shimin this time, and if he didn't run away, he would be in big trouble.

So before Li Shimin returned to the palace, he had already left the palace, and then disguised himself and hid at the south gate of Chang'an.

After seeing Li Shimin, Li Ji and others entered Chang'an, he found a carriage, bypassed Jingzhao Mansion and returned to Luoyang.

But Li Shimin never expected that Gao Ming would play "black under the lamp" and "peek-a-boo" with him. After he couldn't find him, he went back to his bedroom with a bad face.

In fact, Li Shimin still likes Gao Ming very much, because he knows very well that Gao Ming can do things like this time, but he can't.

Li Shimin asked himself, if Li Yuan's imperial conscript was defeated and killed, then the first thing he considered would definitely not be to avenge Li Yuan, but to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor first.

But after Gao Ming received the news of his "death", he chose to avenge him without hesitation, and even handed over the power to other princes, and then led the army to start the western expedition.

Although in Li Shimin's view, as a crown prince, Gao Ming's behavior is obviously unqualified, but as a son, Gao Ming's courage and sincere emotion moved him very much.

Originally, what Li Shimin was most worried about was that his sons would follow his old path and kill brothers for the sake of the throne, but now Gao Ming has proved himself with actions, which also made Li Shimin very pleased.

And the most important thing is that Gao Mingwen was able to stabilize the court and issued the so-called "Treasury Bonds", which quickly filled the treasury without adding taxes; .

It can be said that Wenzhiwugong is good at everything!
All of this was seen by Li Shimin, if Gao Ming hadn't given him a "catch the chicken dragon claw hand" as soon as they met, he would have even considered the Zen position.

But now he has changed his mind.

"Hmph, this brat, let him survive for a few more years!"

Just thinking of this, Li Shimin suddenly realized that according to Gao Ming's lazy temper, he would definitely be happier not letting him be the emperor.

After realizing this, he immediately felt even more helpless.

"This brat, when did he become like this? There are more and more ghostly ideas in his head."

As he said that, Li Shimin couldn't help taking out a treasury bill from his arms, looking at the portrait of Gao Ming riding a horse and wielding a knife, a trace of envy flashed in his eyes.

"If my portrait can be made like this, then even if it doesn't last forever, it can be regarded as a great emperor who has never been seen before or since?"

Thinking of this, Li Shimin's eyes suddenly flashed with determination.

On the morning of the next day, Li Shimin decreed that the Ministry of Military Industry should use his portrait as a basis to produce another batch of treasury bonds with a face value of ten guan.

Regarding Li Shimin's purpose, the ministers of the DPRK and China basically knew and could understand it, so everyone did not object, but everyone also knew that the treasury bills that Li Shimin wanted to issue would definitely not go well.

The reason is also very simple, because according to the current price of Datang, the treasury bills issued by Gao Ming with a consistent face value are already considered large-value bills.

In today's Datang, the price of a bucket of rice is only five Wen, which is equivalent to 2000 Yuan in later generations!
With treasury bills of such a large denomination, except for some ordinary people who buy and sell large livestock, only merchants use them for large transactions.

This is also thanks to the strict laws of the Tang Dynasty. Once the government decree to punish the nine clans was falsified, no one dared to falsify it, otherwise the market would have been chaotic.

This is true for treasury bills like Yiguanqian, let alone Shiguanqian, so Li Shimin's plan to leave his name in history is doomed to fail.

Almost all the courtiers were well aware of these situations, but no one was stupid enough to stand up and point it out. After all, this was none of their business and would not violate their interests. There was no need to touch Li Shimin's fate.

In this way, following Li Shimin's order, the courtiers agreed by default, and then the Ministry of Military Industry of the Tang Dynasty produced another batch of treasury bonds, which were handed over to the Ministry of Household Management for issuance.

Compared with the previous two editions of Yiguanqian treasury bills printed with Gao Ming's portrait, the third edition of Treasury bills printed with Li Shimin's portrait is much better in terms of craftsmanship and quality.

But unfortunately, the common people and businessmen did not buy it, let alone exchange it with real gold, silver or copper coins. Even if the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs made it clear that the first and second edition treasury bills could be exchanged, everyone was unwilling. .

There were even several old farmers who could not read a single word, and after seeing the third edition of the treasury bill with Li Shimin's portrait printed on it, they jumped out.

"The person on the crown prince's money is wrong!"

Hearing these words, the officials of the household department were dumbfounded.

However, since the people are unwilling to exchange, the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs cannot force them. In this way, the result is that everyone still holds the first and second editions as money, while the treasury bills of the third edition of Li Shimin's portrait are ignored. .

When Li Shimin found out about this, he was depressed for a long time before he recovered.

And he was still asking the ministers in the early morning how to make the people accept the treasury bills with his portrait printed on them, but everyone was silent.

Don't the ministers know?
of course not!

Because the ministers are very clear that the common people recognize the prince Gao Ming, as long as Gao Ming's portrait is printed on the treasury bills, the common people will definitely buy it.

In the same way, as long as Li Shimin's portrait is printed with Gao Ming, the common people may accept him as a "additional head" for Gao Ming's sake.

But this cannot be said to Li Shimin, so they can only keep silent.

But Li Shimin is not stupid, seeing that everyone is silent, he soon came to his senses, and this made him even more depressed.

"As an old man, I want to make a name for myself. Do I still have to go to my son's glory? Where does this put my old face?"

Between face and reputation, Li Shimin finally chose the latter, so the fourth version of treasury bills came into being.

This kind of treasury bill with five pennies printed on it, which said that Li Shimin and Gao Ming rode together on horseback, was immediately snapped up by the people and businessmen as soon as it was issued. The high efficiency made Li Shimin both happy and helpless.

I am happy because he can gain great fame and prestige through this method, but I am helpless because this time he has gained the glory of being brilliant.

"You brat, you've been away for more than two months, why haven't you come back!" Thinking of Gao Ming who "run away", Li Shimin couldn't help but gritted his teeth secretly.

After muttering something in his heart, he took another look at the white snow that had started to melt on the palace wall, and then heaved a long sigh.

"Hey, it's going to be the beginning of spring soon, isn't that brat coming back soon?"

At this time, Li Shimin was like countless ordinary fathers, looking forward to his son's return at home.

Winter went to spring, and a month passed quickly. Although Li Shimin didn't wait for Gao Ming to come back, he did wait for the excerpt from the governor of Luoyang, and the contents of the excerpt could be categorized into only one sentence——Xuanzang returns to China!
(End of this chapter)