Chapter 308 Ouch, are you blushing?
After drifting on the sea for nearly a year, Pei Xingjian now feels dizzy even when walking.

There was nothing we could do as we had been at sea for too long. Every time we passed by a small country in the south, we could only stay on land for a few days before returning to the ship and setting off for the next country.

Fortunately, his harvest was quite good. This time he transported more than two million shi of grain from the sea.

After all, there are many ships going out to sea this time and the transport capacity is sufficient.

However, if we want to transport these grains from Luoyang to Chang'an, it will take some effort.

After a few days of preparation in Luoyang, and with someone coming to Luoyang to discuss matters, Pei Xingjian had completed all the arrangements and officially set off back to Chang'an.

The journey lasted five days, and when he returned to Chang'an, it was ten days later.

Li Xiang was originally inspecting the construction of sewers in various places in Chang'an City. When he heard that his brother-in-law had returned to Chang'an, he immediately left Fang Yiai behind and returned to Jingzhao Prefecture.

Fang Yiai: So love will disappear, right?

When he returned to Jingzhao Prefecture, Pei Xingjian was sitting on a chair drinking tea with Di Renjie and Luo Binwang. When he saw Li Xiang coming back, he quickly stood up.

"Keep your promise, keep your promise!" Li Xiang said loudly. He stretched out his hand and walked over to hold Pei Xingjian's arm. "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"

"Your Highness, I have accomplished my mission." Pei Xingjian said excitedly, "This time, I not only brought back two million dan of grain, but also found high-yield crops for the Tang Dynasty!"

"I will report your contribution to the court." Li Xiang took his arm and sat beside him. "After so many days of drifting on the sea, have you ever missed Chang'an?"

"Your Highness, there is not a day that I don't miss the Tang Dynasty." Pei Xingjian's eyes flashed.

"Now that you are back, you should have a good rest for a few days," Li Xiang patted Pei Xingjian's arm, "You have worked so hard for so long, you should have some days off. Come with me to the palace to report the victory to the saint, and then go to the Wude Hall to see my sister. You two siblings haven't seen each other for a while. My sister often told me that you are wandering outside and she misses you very much."

"Yes, Your Highness." Pei Xingjian said calmly.

Then he hesitated again: "Your Highness, as an outsider, is it not appropriate for me to go to the Wude Hall like this..."

"Nothing wrong." Li Xiang waved his hand. "Besides, my sister is already eight months pregnant and her body is not in good condition. It would be better for you to go to the palace to visit her."

"Xueqing is pregnant?" Pei Xingjian asked in surprise.

Li Xiang then remembered that Pei Xueqing was found to be pregnant only after Pei Xingjian left.

"It's quite a coincidence. Just after you left Chang'an, the imperial physician diagnosed that your sister was pregnant." Li Xiang said with a smile.

Pei Xingjian said with emotion: "I..."

Before he could finish his words, he swallowed them back.

This statement was somewhat inappropriate. I had originally wanted to express my emotion like Yang Jian about having an offspring, but suddenly I remembered that the child's surname was Li, not Pei.

"What's wrong with you?" Li Xiang asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"I am fine. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness." Pei Xingjian wiped his sweat and said, "I am just feeling sad. When Xueqing was still this tall..."

As he spoke, Pei Xingjian compared the height of a child.

"It seems like it was just in front of me when I was still swinging on the swing in the yard. I didn't expect that time would pass so quickly and I already have children..."

"Who said it wasn't? It's you who kept your promise. Now you are almost thirty years old and still don't have a family." Li Xiang looked up and down at Pei Xingjian and said, "How about I take charge and introduce one to you?"

"Your Highness is joking." Pei Xingjian's face suddenly turned red. He had never thought about matters between men and women in his life.

Before, I had been thinking about how to make progress, and on the other hand, I was also learning military tactics with Su Dingfang. As a result, things got delayed.

Now that Li Xiang suddenly mentioned acting as a matchmaker for him, Pei Xingjian actually felt a little shy.

"Oh, are you blushing?" Li Xiang stretched his head to look at him teasingly. Seeing Pei Xingjian turning his head away, he, Di Renjie and Luo Binwang looked at each other and they all laughed.

Luo Binwang wiped away the tears from his laughter and said jokingly, "I didn't expect that General Pei would actually blush..."

"Who said it wasn't? If it were you, General Pei, as your Highness's brother-in-law, you should not be polite." Di Renjie also said, "Since your Highness wants to be your matchmaker, just accept it. Speaking of which, the lifelong affairs of Guanguang, Shengzhi and I also need your help, hahahaha..."

"No problem, Huaiying, Shouyue, and Guanguang, just tell me who you like." Li Xiang said with a smile, "I will personally act as your matchmaker when the time comes."

Before the three of them could say anything, they heard a young voice calling from outside.

"Brother!"

Li Xiang turned around and immediately saw Cheng Chubi, whose face was covered in darkness.

"Chu Bi?" Li Xiang stood up, walked forward with a smile, and rubbed his face with his hands: "How come you have become so dark after not seeing you for a few months? Be careful that Duke Lu will see you and not recognize you as his son."

Cheng Chubi's good mood was shattered by Li Xiang's words.

He thought about it in his mind and realized that his father could really do this.

He usually mocks Yuchi Gong as a piece of charcoal, and now his son has become a piece of charcoal. It feels a bit like a boomerang that he shot many years ago and stabbed him in the face.

The kind that makes your face bleed.

"Brother, you're joking." Cheng Chubi lowered his head dejectedly, and his whole appearance lost its color.

"Cheng San, don't you know that His Highness is teasing you?" Pei Xingjian said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "This time we went to sea, we have made great contributions, and Duke Lu is proud of it. He loves you so much, how could he not acknowledge you as his son?"

"Yes, according to Duke Lu's temperament, he would like to announce to the whole Tang Dynasty that you are his dearest son." Luo Binwang also said.

"Really?" Cheng Chubi's body trembled.

"Of course I take it seriously." Di Renjie said with a smile.

"It seems that my brother is lying to me again." Cheng Chubi scratched his head, looked at Li Xiang, then looked behind him, and said nothing.

Li Xiang: …

He now felt somewhat immoral.

A familiar voice came from my ear...

You are still making fun of people who are already stupid?
Go buy some melon seeds for Cheng Shazi... After chatting and laughing for a while, Li Xiang calculated that the time for the morning court session had passed, so he brought Pei Xingjian and Cheng Chubi to the palace.

In the Liangyi Hall, Li Shimin held the tea bowl, used the lid to remove the tea leaves, and sipped the tea carefully.

There was a look of satisfaction on his face. After all, in such a cold day, drinking some hot water was the best thing.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince requests to see you." Wang De walked in and said.

Li Shimin raised his eyebrows and muttered, "Why is this grandson so polite all of a sudden?" He also said, "Call him in."

Wang De walked out, and after a while, he brought Li Xiang, Pei Xingjian and Cheng Chubi into the Liangyi Hall.

"Uncle." Li Xiang greeted him casually, but the two people behind him bowed respectfully and respectfully.

"Your servant Pei Xingjian (Cheng Chubi) pays homage to the sage!"

"Stand up." Li Shimin raised his eyebrows. He knew that these two people had gone out to sea a few months ago. Now that they have returned to the Tang Dynasty, they must have gained something.

Li Xiang asked the eunuch to show the two of them a seat, and then he stepped forward and said to Li Shimin: "Auntie, this time Shouyue and Chubi went out to sea and bought two million dan of grain from the southern countries and found high-yield crops. Now the grain has been escorted to Chang'an. Please let Aunie decide on the follow-up matters."

"Two million shi?" Li Shimin sat up straight.

Two million shi of grain is not a small number.

Such a large amount of food and grass is enough to support the Tang Dynasty in launching a campaign to annihilate a country.

"Yes, more than two million." Li Xiang answered with a smile.

"I have to say, you really gave me a surprise." Li Shimin put down the scroll in his hand and said with a smile: "Not only did you bring back the food that the Tang Dynasty needs most now, but you also found high-yield crops..."

"I dare not take credit for it. If it weren't for the strategy given by Your Highness, we would not have the opportunity to find high-yield crops and buy back these grains." Pei Xingjian said modestly.

"Family members know their own business. You don't need to be humble when it comes to keeping your promise." Li Shimin nodded. He was very satisfied with this young man Pei Xingjian.

It's not only because this young man is the elder brother of his grandson's wife, but also because this young man knows when to advance and when to retreat and is sensible about the overall situation.

"Wang De." Li Shimin called.

Wang De immediately stood up and said, "I'm here."

"Draft an edict to confer the title of Duke of Wenxi County on Pei Xingjian and the title of Earl of Dong'a on Cheng Chubi." Li Shimin drafted the rewards for the two men without much thought.

"Thank you, Saint!" The two were overjoyed and thanked God for his grace.

Both of these titles have their origins.

Pei Xingjian was from Wenxi County, Jiang Prefecture, so according to this principle he was granted the title of Duke of Wenxi County.

It is interesting to say that in history, Pei Xingjian was granted the title of Duke of Wenxi County because of his unremarkable contributions, while the current Pei Xingjian started as the Duke of Wenxi County. It has to be said that having a backer is indeed the basic rule for climbing up in officialdom.

When Pei Xingjian put down the Turkic rebellion, he promised Ashina Funian that he would not kill them. However, the attendant Pei Yan was jealous of his contribution and stated his opinion to Emperor Gaozong that Ashina Funian was threatened and pursued by Cheng Wuting and Zhang Qianxu, and was also forced by the Huihe in the north, so he had no choice but to surrender.

Li Zhi naturally believed what Pei Yan said. Perhaps this sesame dumpling also had its own considerations. In short, the result led to the execution of Ashina Funian and Ashide Wenfu. Pei Xingjian's contribution was not recorded and he was only named the Duke of Wenxi County.

Cheng Chubi was named Dong'abo because his father Cheng Yaojin's hometown was Dong'a, Jeju, so he was given the title Dong'abo.

Logically speaking, Cheng Chubi should not have been granted the title of baron, but who made him have the honor of having his elder brother be Li Xiang?
Old Li loved his grandson so much that he generously gave Cheng Chubi the title of uncle.

Don't underestimate this earl. You must know that Cheng Yaojin is the Duke of Lu, and this title will be passed on to his eldest son Cheng Chumo in the future. Now that Cheng Chubi has been conferred the title of Earl of Dong'a, the Cheng family can be said to have two titles.

Cheng Chubi is also young, and is a trusted minister of the Crown Prince. It is not impossible for the Cheng family to have two dukes in the future.

"Stand up." Li Shimin smiled warmly. After the two sat down, he asked again: "Looking at the map drawn by the Crown Prince, this peninsula is less than one-third the size of the Tang Dynasty. How come you can buy so much food?"

"Your Majesty, you don't know." Pei Xingjian replied, "The peninsula is hot all year round, with only summer and no winter, so it is suitable for growing food all year round. Moreover, the crop yields on the peninsula are several times higher than those in the Tang Dynasty, so the peninsula countries are not short of food."

"It's summer all year round?" Li Shimin immediately became interested. "No wonder, no wonder, no wonder they have so much grain, there turns out to be this reason..."

Seeing that Li Shimin was interested in this question, Li Xiang explained to him, Pei Xingjian and Cheng Chubi why there are four seasons and why the Indochina Peninsula is hot all year round.

"Nature is indeed magnificent." Li Shimin said with emotion: "I never thought that the theory of the four seasons could contain so much knowledge..."

"Yes, if Your Highness had not cleared up my confusion today, I would really be puzzled." Pei Xingjian also felt the same way.

"This world is really amazing. The further north you go in the Northern Hemisphere, the colder it gets. The further south you go in the Southern Hemisphere, the colder it gets." Cheng Chubi was also very interested in this theory: "I really want to go to the south to see if Antarctica is as cold as my brother said."

"That will have to wait until the shipbuilding industry is upgraded." Li Xiang said with a smile: "Today's ships are not yet capable of such long ocean voyages."

The few of them talked about everything from astronomy and geography to the customs and culture of the Indochina Peninsula.

Pei Xingjian and Cheng Chubi have something to say about this. After all, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. They are both people who have truly traveled ten thousand miles and they know the situation in Indochina like the back of their hands.

Li Shimin also listened with great interest, with a gleam in his eyes.

"It's a pity that this fertile land cannot belong to the Tang Dynasty..." Pei Xingjian concluded, "If it can be developed by the Tang Dynasty, then our Tang Dynasty will have a granary in the south..."

"There is no rush for this matter." Li Xiang said with a smile: "Let's do business with the countries on the peninsula first, let them grow grain for our Tang Dynasty, and we can exchange it with luxury goods such as silk and tea."

"Everyone is greedy. When the royal nobles of the peninsula become obsessed with the luxury goods from the Tang Dynasty and do not have enough food, they will inevitably impose heavy taxes on the people. Naturally, there will be resentment among the people, and then..."

Having said this, Li Xiang stopped talking.

There is no need to explain some things so thoroughly, as it would become meaningless if you explain them thoroughly.

Don’t say that. As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present fell into deep thought.

Hey, don’t say that, this method is a bit damaging, but it does work.

Besides, this method cannot be said to be a harm. After all, the Tang Dynasty did not bewitch the other party, and the blame cannot be put on the Tang Dynasty. It is the ruling class of your own country that is not human. We, the Tang Dynasty, are just here to do business. What does it have to do with me?

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)