Ji Tang

Chapter 222 Ledger
Ji Song's study room is very simple, with a large bookshelf that takes up almost one-third of the room, a solid wood desk, and a narrow soft couch for resting.

When Li Shimin came to the room and saw this, he nodded without any trace.

He was very satisfied with Ji Song's simplicity. People often said that Ji Song's family had so much wealth that he would not be able to finish it off even if it took him three lifetimes.

But few people know that Ji Song's life is actually very simple. He himself has no bad habits. He is the only mother in the family. He is always willing to give charity and has no big expenses.

The only place where a lot of money is spent is on the academy, whether it's the students' food, clothing, housing, or teaching facilities.

He had also been to the temporary residence in Chang'an, and when he thought about it, it looked much better than the homes of ordinary rich and powerful people.

Then there was the kid who didn't know whether he was really stupid or pretending to be stupid. He spent money everywhere to buy books. No matter what kind of book it was, as long as it was useful, he would spend a lot of money to buy it.

There is a lot of money spent on this, so much so that the Ji family's current books are almost catching up with those of aristocratic families that have accumulated hundreds or even thousands of years of books.

Don't think that all books are controlled by aristocratic families. China has thousands of years of history, and there are countless families that have enjoyed great success.

Although not much can be left behind, many were destroyed during the war, but how huge is the base?There are more or less families in decline who have preserved some precious classics.

In order to revive the family, these declining aristocratic or poor families, how can they still sit still when they know that the famous Hao Jiehou Jisong spends a lot of money to buy books?

Everyone has said that what we want is not the original, nor the family heirlooms that have been annotated by the predecessor, but the handwritten copy, and the original text is fine.

As a result, in a short period of time, many people came to exchange money with books from home.I hope I can use this money to give some hope to the children of the family.

In this way, Ji Song gathered a large number of classics.

Even some children from aristocratic families could not resist the temptation of money and took out their collection of classics in exchange for money.

Until now, Li Shimin didn't know how many books Ji Song owned. He heard that there were many rare and ancient classics that had never appeared before.

"Hao Jiehou is really diligent and studious. Look at the books in this study, they are not something ordinary people can have." Wei Zheng said with some envy.

His family had been in dire straits for a long time, and things did not get better until he became Li Jiancheng's crown prince.

Although there is usually no shortage of money, if you want to gather so many books like Ji Song, don't even think about it.

Although he didn't know how much wealth this kid had, he knew it was definitely a lot from collecting books, otherwise he wouldn't have collected so many.

When Ji Song heard what Wei Zheng said, he was a little proud and very happy for his original decision!

At that time, I just asked the butler to do it with the idea of ​​giving it a try, but I didn’t expect that it gave me a lot of surprises!
Many long-lost classics actually appeared one after another under such circumstances. Seeing those bamboo slips that were about to be weathered by time, he knew that if a few more years passed, these things might disappear completely.

Li Shimin glanced at Ji Song jealously, and when he looked at these books again, he felt a toothache.

When I heard that this guy had obtained a bamboo slip of the original version of Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" from the pre-Qin period, I thought I would come over and take a look.

But he didn't expect that this young general was hiding deeply, so he was sent a handwritten paper book, which made him so angry that he almost ordered the boy to be killed.

Ji Song poured tea for everyone, and then sat down at the bottom.

"Wei Gong was so complimentary. Usually it's just a decoration. Now I rarely have time to sit down and read." Ji Song said with some pity.

Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng looked at each other and understood why Ji Song said this.

It's not an exaggeration to say they understand. Of course they knew in the court that Ji Song had basically never stopped since the second year of Zhenguan.I am usually busy with official duties and dealing with all kinds of unexpected and emergencies. How can I have time to calm down and study?

In fact, they are the same. They are always so busy that they dare not stop even when they get home.

Seeing the expressions of Ji Song and the two of them, Li Shimin's face turned dark. Do you think I don't exist?

If you say this in front of me, are you blaming me for squeezing you too hard?

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Li Shimin coughed, and the three of them woke up. They quickly drank tea to cover up their embarrassment.

Li Shimin didn't want to dwell on this matter anymore, but changed the subject and said, "I saw the appearance of your Jijia Village when I first came here. You must have invested a lot of money in it!"

Li Shimin's meaning is self-evident, that is, this kind of paradise is a false prosperity created by Ji Song with your money.

As long as Ji Song no longer provides support, the truth will be revealed immediately!
"Your Majesty, does your Majesty know the income of the people here?"

He did not answer Li Shimin's question directly, but asked about another topic.

Li Shimin and the three looked at each other, a little surprised. Could it be that the people here have a high income?
They shook their heads, a little disbelieving. At this time, ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty were considered to be middle-class families if they could have consistent savings for a year.

To reach the living standard of Jijia Zhuangzi at this time, it is possible to maintain at least an income of hundreds of dollars.

Having lived in the palace all day long, he knew that even though the scenery outside was nice, it needed constant maintenance and care.

Otherwise, if you try to leave the outside alone for a year, it will become a wilderness.

The maintenance cost here is not a small amount, and generally a middle-class house cannot maintain it for long.

Although they didn't quite believe it, since Ji Song asked this, it must make sense.

"How much?" the three asked.

Ji Song did not answer, but took out an account book on the desk and handed it to them: "This is the income statistics of farmers in the first half of this year. Although it is not accurate, it is close to ten."

At the emperor's signal, Fang Xuanling took the account book and looked through it. At first, he didn't take it seriously, thinking that a few families with higher incomes were ranked first. This was a common practice among many officials. He had already All numb.

But the further he looked, the more surprised he became!

Sometimes he would go back and confirm it again. When he was halfway through, he closed his eyes and handed the account book to the emperor and Wei Zheng.

"What? Is there anything fishy in this?" Li Shimin asked doubtfully.

Fang Xuanling opened her eyes, looked at the leisurely Ji Song, and said helplessly: "There is nothing wrong with the account book, the entries are clear, and the source of the money is reasonable. As long as you look at the account book, you can clearly know whether what is said is true. .”

"But the figures above put Wei Chen to shame. He didn't expect that a carpenter's income in one year would be higher than that of the magistrate of a county. Wei Chen almost thought that the account book was fake."

"But my intuition tells Wei Chen that the numbers above are real, or are they really something that can no longer be real. Some things cannot be faked."

Li Shimin was stunned. He didn't expect Fang Xuanling to say that. This made him even more curious. He picked up the account book and looked at it carefully.

(End of this chapter)