First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 471 The Easiest Way to Improve Prestige
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Hearing Gao Chong's words, Li Shimin suddenly smiled. Gao waited for Chong to put down his teacup, and when he looked up, he saw Li Shimin's malicious smile.

"Uh...Your Highness is not planning to let me go?" Gao Chong was a little stunned, pointing at himself and questioning.

"You are the chief official of Dali Temple. You have been transferred to the prison, and you are ordered to inspect the criminal names of the prisons in various states and counties, and to investigate the accumulated cases of unjust and wrong cases. Isn't that justified?" Li Shimin said as a matter of course, with a serious face.

Gao Chong's face was serious immediately, and he said seriously: "Your Highness thinks that the name is righteous, then it is righteous, and the minister will not disgrace his life."

Li Shimin nodded, got up and patted Gao Chong on the shoulder and praised: "Not bad, not bad, in your words, the awareness is in place."

"Resolutely obey the arrangement and strictly execute the order," Gao Chong replied without hesitation.

Li Shimin couldn't help being startled when he saw this, he looked Gao Chong up and down, nodded thoughtfully and said: "This attitude is very good, quite military style."

Gao Chong grinned, and immediately went back to the past, "Your Highness is right."

You are the prince now, and you will be the emperor in the future. Everything you say is right, and you have to be right if you are not.

"Okay, what do you think about patrolling the states?" Li Shimin waved his hand and asked Zhang Anan to order: "Bring some dried bamboo shoots."

Zhang Anan skillfully took out a pack of dried bamboo shoots from under the desk at the side, Gao Chong grabbed a handful very bluntly, and while chewing, he shook his head and complained: "Your Highness, this habit is not good."

Li Shimin was stunned, and said angrily: "I didn't waste people's money, what's the matter with eating some dried bamboo shoots?"

Gao Chong suddenly laughed, "I didn't mean that, Your Highness is the Son of Heaven, it's best not to eat and drink according to your preferences, even if you like the same dish, you can't eat it multiple times, this is for your safety.

If your eating habits spread, it will not only be detrimental to personal safety, but it will also easily lead to imitation.

Take the dried bamboo shoots as an example. If people in the world know that His Highness loves dried bamboo shoots, if there is something good at the top, and the good at the bottom, it will cause the subjects to follow suit. The bamboo shoots that are not the main crop may become the food sought after by everyone. As the saying goes, "Wu Wang is good Swordsman, the common people have more wounds, the king of Chu has a thin waist, and the palace starves to death', this is the reason."

Li Shimin was thoughtful after hearing this, put down the dried bamboo shoots in his hands, and said very seriously: "What Youzhi said is reasonable, not only for safety, but also to avoid being good at the top, so that the bottom will follow suit. The formation of bad habits is a lesson from Wu and Chu, so don’t let it go.”

According to the records of "The History of Palace Ladies", the emperor's concubines do not put the third chopsticks in the same dish when eating. This is a customary rule.

Li Shimin felt that it was necessary, but actually ordered that dried bamboo shoots are not allowed in the palace, which made Gao Chong a little embarrassed, he just said it casually, in fact, there is nothing wrong with Li Shimin's hobby of eating bamboo shoots.

Li Shimin didn't eat it, Gao Chong couldn't waste it, he put a pack of bamboo shoots into his arms, the corners of Li Shimin's mouth twitched, he always felt that something was wrong, but soon he stopped thinking about it, he just ate a bamboo shoot, it's okay not to eat it, Forget about Gao Chong's "grabbing the bamboo shoots".

Seeing Li Shimin looking at him, Gao Chong stroked his train of thought, and said bluntly: "I plan to first preach the imperial court's policies when I arrive at the place, and explain the decrees recently issued by His Highness to the local people in simple terms.

In addition, in the investigation of prisons, anyone who is not a heinous person can be dealt with lightly, and this can also promote His Highness's kindness."

"Preaching?" Li Shimin frowned, "Preaching the imperial government's policies can only be done by government officials in prefectures and counties. Even if you are a high-ranking third-rank official, even if you go to the village to preach, you still have no skills at all. How can you take care of many states and counties?"

Gao Chong shook his head and smiled, "Your Highness, listen to me, I don't need to give this lecture in person. Nowadays, there are many legendary novels in restaurants and teahouses to attract customers. Let's call them storytellers. I don't know if Your Highness has read them. been?"

Li Shimin was stunned, "A few days ago in Xishi, someone talked about "Sou Shen Ji", which was quite interesting, but this?"

Gao Chong nodded and said with a smile: "Exactly, these storytellers are very talented, and they tell these legendary novels in places where people gather, such as wine shops and teahouses, and ask for a few taels of money to survive.

I intend to compile His Royal Highness's glorious deeds since Jinyang's rise of troops, as well as some policies that benefit the country and the people promulgated after he ascended the throne, into a novel, and give it to storytellers in the market to preach. Romance".

Gao Chong couldn't help smiling, and kept fooling Li Shimin, "Once "The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" is widely circulated, that's what His Highness' reputation will be." He gave a thumbs up while speaking.

After all, Li Shimin still has face, and he couldn't help but blushed a little when he heard the words, and said a little embarrassedly: "Such flattery is arousing criticism. Besides, you are so flattering, and Qingliu celebrities will not tolerate it."

Gao Chong righteously said: "As long as it is beneficial to His Highness, I will not hesitate."

"Then... that's okay", Li Shimin hesitated for a while, then nodded and said, "It's just that you need to grasp this degree well."

Gao Chong had a smile on his face, "It's natural, don't worry, Your Highness, once this book comes out, those gossips will disappear."

In fact, as early as a few years ago, in order to avoid forgetting some important things, Gao Chong recorded some things he remembered in his mind on silk cloth, and wrote them all in pinyin, not afraid of being seen by others.

Over the past few days, Gao Chong has noticed that history has deviated too much from the original track, and he feels a little uneasy in his heart, so he often takes out the silk cloth to read it, and after reading it, he intends to organize it into a book.

As for the title of the book, it is naturally the "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" that has a deep impression on my mind.

"At that time, His Royal Highness will be invited to Renshou Palace, and the sage will be invited to write a preface." Gao Chong's smile was too treacherous, which made Li Shimin a little vigilant.

"A preface by a sage?" Li Shimin asked with wide-eyed eyes, then shook his head and said, "This is impossible. Since ancient times, it has never been heard that the emperor wrote a preface to such miscellaneous books as Legendary Romance."

"Don't worry, Your Highness," Gao Chong said confidently, "When my book is finished, you can dedicate it to the saint, and he will definitely write the preface."

Li Shimin was skeptical, so he had to agree, "There is not much time left for you."

"Five days, it can be completed in five days", Gao Chong said bluntly: "I already have a draft, as for finishing it into a book."

Li Shimin was stunned when he heard the words, no wonder this guy was full of confidence from the beginning to the end, it turned out that he had planned for a long time, but he had seen Gao Chong's writing style, and he was vaguely looking forward to Gao Chong's masterpiece, so he said straight away: "In that case, go quickly Bar".

Gao Chong got up and saluted with his arms crossed, turned around and left with a bag of dried bamboo shoots in his pocket, and when he walked to the door, he suddenly stopped.

"Your Highness, let me ask you a question. I bumped into Duke Peng at the gate of the palace just now. He said he was leaving Beijing. I don't know where he is going?" He waved his hands and smiled, "Of course, I'm just curious. If it's top secret, Then pretend I didn't ask."

(End of this chapter)