Chapter 290: Pink and Black Li Lizhi (asking for monthly ticket)
Li Su's words did not exaggerate the role of Dengzhou.

In fact, after the development of Dengzhou, the dining tables of Guanzhong people have gradually become richer.

One thing you need to know is that the amount of food consumed is completely different when there is oil and water and when there is no oil and water.

Just like when Li Xiang was a child, in that era of material scarcity, when his family came back from the fields, they ate steamed buns by the pound.

Later, when there was plenty of oil and water, few people still ate like this.

Moreover, the energy brought by oil and water is incomparable to that of food.

If you have driven in the north in winter, you will know that the tolerance to cold is different if you eat a large meal of fatty meat at noon and if you have a lunch with little oil.

In addition, in order to transport goods from Dengzhou, it was necessary to dredge the canals in various places, which also ensured the stability of grain in Guanzhong.

"Who said it wasn't true?" Li Lizhi said in a gentle voice, "So Xiang'er was right. Anyone who dares to obstruct the construction of Youzhou should be severely punished."

Although Li Lizhi usually has a good temper, when it comes to such fundamental issues, she is more decisive than anyone else.

Are you kidding? Look at whose daughter she is. She was a woman who witnessed her own father killing his brothers and sisters and taking pleasure in it when she was only a few years old.

"Xiang'er's letter also asked me to send someone to supervise the repair of the drainage ditch in Jingzhao Prefecture." Li Su continued, and she looked up at Li Lizhi and Li Mingda again: "Drainage ditch? Oh, I, the dignified Princess Gaoyang, actually have to be responsible for this kind of work..."

"Isn't there still Quan Wanji?" she said again.

"You can't blame Xiang'er for making you work so hard." Li Mingda shook his head helplessly and said, "You don't know that when Quan Wanji rebelled against Qi Shuren..."

Li Mingda told Li Shu and others in detail about the interesting things that happened to Quan Wanji. At the end, she said, "Because of this, now Quan Changshi not only cannot see the drainage ditch, but even cannot hear these three words or even similar words. He will vomit when he hears them."

“Hahahaha…” The girls were laughing so hard that they were shaking with laughter. No one had expected that Quan Wanji actually had such an unknown past.

Li Shu smiled with her eyes curved. She covered her mouth and said, "Well, I thought Xiang'er thought that I, as an aunt, was unimportant, so she sent me such a perfunctory job. It turns out that it is because Quan Wanji is not qualified for this job..."

"Speaking of importance, you are indeed not as important as Sizi in Xiang'er's heart." Li Lizhi suddenly spoke up and delivered a brilliant finishing blow.

"No...no way?" Li Shu was stunned. How could this be opened?

Seeing Li Su stunned for a moment, Li Lizhi continued to add: "Otherwise, why would such a dirty job of cleaning the drains be assigned to you instead of Sizi?"

Don't say it, really don't say it.

Li Lizhi usually looks pink and a quiet girl who doesn't bother with worldly affairs, but in fact she is pink and black.

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Shu began to doubt his life.

"Haha, I'm not as important as Sizi? Haha, okay." Li Shu said nonchalantly, "Actually, I don't really care about Xiang'er's thoughts. It's so funny. I don't care who he thinks is more important. He's actually pretty average. Hahaha, it's so funny. He's really pretentious."

Seeing her angry look, Li Lizhi turned her head away, her moist lips slightly curled up, obviously looking like she was having fun.

"Sister!" Li Mingda gave Li Lizhi a reproachful look, grabbed Li Shu's arm and said, "Sister Shu'er is Xiang'er's right-hand man, so she is very important. Don't listen to Sister's instigation - she is a bad person!"

"Ha, I don't care. I actually don't care." Li Su laughed.

Hearing this, Li Lizhi really couldn't hold it anymore. She leaned over the table, her shoulders shaking, and she was obviously laughing miserably.

"Okay, sister!" Li Shu also saw Li Lizhi's "sinister intentions". She walked forward relentlessly, grabbed Li Lizhi's armpits, and began to count her ribs.

"Hahaha... Goose, goose, goose, Shu'er, don't... Ugh..." Li Lizhi couldn't stand the itchiness after being tickled like this. She trembled all over and begged for mercy repeatedly.

"Hmph, let's see if you dare to tease me again." Li Shu snorted without stopping his hands.

It was not until Li Lizhi lay exhausted in her arms that he stopped his mischievous hands.

"I'll go to Jingzhao Prefecture tomorrow to supervise their work." Li Shu said breathlessly, his face flushed from all the laughter he had just said. "Well, let me ask Jun to go with me tomorrow. Although he's a bit dull, he's honest after all. It's a good thing to let him stay in Jingzhao Prefecture to supervise."

"What about my uncle's duty in Zuowei?" Pei Xueqing asked.

"Hey, he usually just lies there to sleep. Why not give him something to do?" Li Shu said, "Xiang'er said that the 'drainage system' in Chang'an is not perfect. If it is not repaired, it will surely cause a series of serious problems if there is a heavy rain in the future."

What Li Xiang said was not alarmist. Even with a well-developed drainage system like in later generations, there would still be floods when faced with heavy rainfall, let alone a city like this in ancient times.

The Tang Dynasty lasted for a total of 289 years. In Chang'an City alone, there were 20 sea-viewing activities recorded in history.

On average, it happens once every fifteen years.

The most serious casualties occurred on the night of Gengyin in June of the eighth year of Kaiyuan. Historical records say that "Xingdaofang in the capital city became a pond overnight, and more than 500 households were drowned."

Xingdaofang is located in the central area of ​​Chang'an City, on the east side of Zhuque Street. It is one of the first rows of lifangs directly south of the imperial city.

There are more than 500 families, and if we count each family with three people, there are more than 1,500 people.

Overnight, everything disappeared due to urban flooding.

Cui Zong, the then Vice Minister of Personnel, drifted dozens of steps away from the west gate of Chongyili. If his neighbors had not pulled him back for the sake of the Tang Dynasty, he would have been doomed to run away.

This is why Li Xiang paid attention to the drainage system. Although it cannot be built to the point where traffic can pass through as described in the legend, it is always better to take precautions before it happens.

Perhaps because of today's repairs, one less person will die when a flood disaster occurs in the future.

"It's a good thing to have my uncle looking after me." Pei Xueqing nodded.

"That's right, don't you see whose consort he is?" Li Su said with some pride.

Li Lizhi rubbed against her bosom, stretched out her hand to pinch her thigh, and scolded with a smile: "You little bitch, you gasp when I tell you you're fat."

"Hehe." Li Shu held his head high and chest out proudly, with no intention of being humble at all.

Li Lizhi and Li Su stayed in the palace until the afternoon, then left Wude Hall and returned to their respective homes.

Early the next morning, Li Shu brought Fang Yiai to Jingzhao Prefecture.

Seeing Li Shu coming, Luo Binwang's eyes lit up. "Princess, I was just about to ask someone to invite you, but I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence."

"Hmm?" Li Shu asked curiously with a nasal tone.

"It's like this," Luo Binwang explained to her with a sudden smile, "Chen Shamen, who was originally from the Qibi tribe, entered Chang'an last night and said that the white sedge he planted had already yielded a harvest. This time when he entered Chang'an, he brought all the white sedge he produced with him."

"Oh?" Li Shu suddenly became excited: "Is the white fringe ripe? Where is Monk Chen now?"

"She is resting in the inn. It was already late last night, so I did not send anyone to disturb the princess. Instead, I let Monk Chen stay in the inn of Jingzhao Prefecture for the time being." Luo Binwang replied.

"Bring him over here." Li Su nodded.

The person actually responsible for the cotton planting by Chen Shamen and the Khitan tribe should be Li Su.

After all, Li Shu was the one who provided cotton seeds and technology, and Li Xiang did not want to bother two masters with one matter, so he simply assigned the matter to Li Shu, making her responsible for purchasing cotton and making it into cotton cloth for sale.

Luo Binwang and others certainly knew about this matter, so they did not dare to act on their own and could only wait for Li Shu to come and deal with it.

The biggest problem is that Li Shu is the one who has the money to provide subsidies.

After a while, Monk Chen was brought to Jingzhao Prefecture.

Accompanying Chen Shamen were the village chief of Chenjia Village and several villagers and neighbors who had a good relationship with Chen Shamen.

Li Su sat high up on the throne of Jingzhao Yin. With the blessing of this official hall, he looked quite majestic.

"We common people come to see Princess Gaoyang." At Luo Binwang's reminder, Chen Shamen and others bowed their heads.

Normally, one doesn't need to pay homage to the princess, but with the blessing of Jingzhao Prefecture, his legs couldn't help but go weak.

"Stand up." Li Shu said indifferently.

After thanking the emperor, several people stood up. After all, Chen Shamen was the general's younger brother and had seen the world. He was not afraid of the stage and took the initiative to say, "Last time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ordered us to plant cotton. Now we have harvested it. The cotton that I and my brothers have planted totals 3,240 kilograms. We have already escorted it to Chang'an City. Please inspect it, Princess."

Li Su turned his gaze to Luo Binwang and asked, "Have you ever tried sightseeing?"

"Your Highness, we have already checked yesterday and it is 3,240 kilograms, not a cent less." Luo Binwang replied with his hands crossed.

Li Su nodded slightly, looked at Chen Shamen, and then said, "On behalf of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I will buy these 3,240 kilograms of cotton at a price of 20 coins per kilogram."

Hearing this, Chen Shamen was stunned.

It’s not that he thinks the money is high or low, it’s mainly because he has no such concept…

Instead, the village chief next to him gasped.

Twenty cents per pound?!
You know, the current price of grain is only about four or five cents per pound, and that's when the market is good.

Now, a pound of cotton costs 20 cents?!
The output of cotton is not much different from that of grain...

Thinking of this, his heart couldn't help but start to heat up.

How about...after we go back, let's ask people to switch to growing cotton?
However, before he could continue his imagination, his thoughts were interrupted by Li Shu's voice.

"Shram Chen, you guys are not willing to pay this price?"

"No, no." The village chief said quickly, "It's not that I don't want to, but the price is really too shocking to me. It's really too affordable..."

"As long as you are satisfied." Li Shu certainly knew what the village chief was thinking. In fact, when Li Xiang and her agreed on the cotton purchase price, Li Shu had thought that someone would have such an idea.

If we only grow cotton, will we still grow grain?
"We, the common people, thank you, Princess." Chen Shamen and others bowed their heads again.

"You don't have to thank me. This is the subsidy that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has given you for growing cotton." Li Shu's eyes lit up, and then he said, "Cotton is a crop that is not picky about the land, but it is only suitable for sowing a few acres in the field. It is not suitable for planting as a main crop."

"With Jingzhao Prefecture and His Highness guaranteeing the purchase of cotton, when I return, I will ask all villagers to cooperate with Jingzhao Prefecture and grow cotton together." The village chief said with a flattering smile.

"If you all grow cotton, who will grow crops?" Li Shu asked with a frown.

"Use the money from selling cotton to buy food," the village chief said nonchalantly.

Li Su curled his lips and said, "What if the whole Tang Dynasty thinks that cotton is profitable and everyone starts to grow cotton? Where will the food come from?"

"This..." Hearing this, the village chief was stunned.

Li Su had already thought of a countermeasure in a flash. She continued, "Your Highness means that in the future, each family should open up a part of wasteland to grow cotton."

"During the autumn harvest season every year, Jingzhao Prefecture will organize caravans to go to the countryside to purchase cotton. The purchase will be made on a household basis, with each household having a quota of 300 kilograms. Jingzhao Prefecture will not purchase the excess. Even if you grow 1,000 or 10,000 kilograms, Jingzhao Prefecture will only purchase 300 kilograms. Do you understand?"

After hearing these words, the people in Chenjia Village understood what Li Shu meant.

"We all understand. We all understand!" they said, bowing quickly.

"As the saying goes, food is the first necessity of the people. Food is not only the foundation of the court, but also your foundation." Li Su's eyes were stern. "I asked you to grow cotton before, but you disagreed. Now that you see the Qibi people growing cotton and making a profit, you want to cut your heads and squeeze in to grow it together. Where in the world can such a good thing happen?"

"But don't worry, this year's cotton planting is just a pilot project. From now on, whether it's the Qibi tribe or you, each family will only purchase 300 kilograms of cotton. No one will get more or less. Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this result, everyone was overjoyed, even Chen Shamen.

There was no other reason. If Li Shu had not drawn a red line for them, allowing the Tiele people to grow cotton at will, and then the Jingzhao Prefecture would have bought them all, that would have been disastrous.

The most worrying thing in this world is not the lack of food but the inequality of distribution. Others all have a share of 300 kilograms. Why should you, who are from the Khitan Tiele tribe and have committed crimes, be able to plant as much as you want?

With this kind of mental imbalance, it would not be surprising if anything could happen.

The red line drawn by Li Shu is, to some extent, also a protection for them.

(Please give me some monthly tickets, sob)

(End of this chapter)