Chapter 321 I intend to abdicate...

That afternoon, Li Mingda took Li Wushuang to the Lizheng Hall.

Li Chengqian was such a bad role model as a grandfather that Li Mingda felt that as the child's aunt, she needed to file a complaint.

After hearing Li Mingda's vivid description, Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"This Qingque, really is..."

Then he pinched Li Wushuang's little face and asked with a smile: "How is it, Doudou, how much did you win from your second uncle?"

"Aye!" Li Mingda stomped his feet.

"I'm saying this is wrong, Doudou." Li Shimin and Li Xiang are indeed grandparents and grandchildren. They both changed their words just as quickly: "You are still young, don't get involved in these bad behaviors..."

Li Wushuang nodded hurriedly with a very good attitude. He admitted his mistake sincerely but refused to correct it.

In this respect, he is somewhat like Li Xiang.

Li Shimin reached out and rubbed Li Wushuang's little head, thinking that this child really looked like me.

I remember when I was a child in Taiyuan, it was like this.

After holding Li Wushuang close for a while, Li Shimin returned the child to Li Mingda and said to her: "Sizi, take her back to Daji Palace first. I still have some official business to deal with."

"Yes, Aye." Li Mingda didn't ask any more questions. He carried Li Wushuang obediently and left Lizheng Hall.

Not long after, Sun Simiao walked in from outside.

"I am honored to meet your Majesty." Sun Simiao bowed.

"You don't have to be so polite, Master." Li Shimin nodded and said, "Recently, I often feel that I am not as energetic as before I got sick. When I read memorials, I often lose my focus unconsciously. Master, may I ask, what's wrong with me?"

"Your Majesty, please extend your hand." Sun Simiao said softly.

Li Shimin extended his hand as instructed, and Sun Simiao placed his fingers on his wrist. He then looked at Li Shimin carefully again, and after a while he said, "Your Majesty is now in good health. Your current lack of energy is probably due to your age."

"Is it due to age?" Li Shimin was stunned.

He had been prepared, thinking that this was some strange disease or that he would not live long, but who knew that Sun Simiao would give him such an answer.

Is it due to old age?
Then he laughed at himself: "I never thought that it was due to old age, which led to my lack of energy... But I am only fifty years old, how can I say I am old? Think about Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty, he was only forty-nine when he established the foundation of Jingzhou, and he ascended the throne at the age of sixty. Am I not as good as him?"

Sun Simiao: …

Look at what you said, is it reasonable?

You also know that Liu Bei didn't establish Jingzhou until he was 49 years old, right? Don't you see how old you were when you ascended the throne? You were born almost at the end of your life, and you still want to compare yourself with Liu Bei?

If Liu Bei knew that you were giving him so much face and compared himself with him, he would probably say that you were no match for him.

Of course, Li Shimin had no such intention. He just wanted to use Liu Bei to explain that he was still in his prime and was at the age where he should strive. How could he easily admit old age?

"Your Majesty has been in many battles in the past, and your vitality has been damaged, so..." Sun Simiao stopped talking here.

It would be impolite to continue talking about this.

Li Shimin also understood what Sun Simiao meant. He sighed and said with a smile, "What the immortal said is true. I am blessed by God to be able to live safely until now."

Sun Simiao did not respond, but just smiled and said nothing.

Old Li discussed health preservation methods with Sun Simiao again, determined the future diet therapy guidelines, and then let Sun Simiao leave Lizheng Hall.

As October approached, winter also began to set in Chang'an City.

Nowadays, the coal mines in Jinyang have been mined. Combined with the coal mines transported by water, Chang'an City has no shortage of coal.

But the negative impact is that once winter comes, the air quality in Chang'an City drops visibly.

Every household burned coal, and there were also special stoves made by the Youzhou Company under Li Su's name that were inexpensive and of good quality. The use of coal had reached a peak in the Tang Dynasty.

Naturally, the current hot water penetration rate in Datang has also increased.

Nowadays, at least in Chang'an City, there are no more cases of people freezing to death due to the cold.

Li Xiang built welfare homes in every market town to provide housing for the homeless in Chang'an City.

But they don't live here for free. After all, he is not really providing welfare. If there is any work in Chang'an City, they will go there to do it as long as they can.

You have hands and feet, you can't eat and drink for free, right?

With such a huge amount of coal consumption, the air quality in Chang'an City is rapidly becoming similar to that of international villages in later times.

Li Xiang sat at the table with a bowl of beef noodles in front of him. Looking at the smog that had already formed a large scale, his eyes became moist.

Yes, this is the taste. All I need is a can of hot Lulu and I will be back to Da Guojizhuang.

What? You ask what is hot lulu?
Then you are not a true international farmer!
In mid-November, the fleet led by Cheng Chubi returned to Chang'an City from the south.

As the fleet grew larger, it could carry more and more cargo, no longer limited to edible food, but could even carry considerable amounts of spices and other valuable items.

In Chang'an City, the price of spices was very high. For example, black pepper could be exchanged for an equal weight of gold in Europe, and the same was true in the old Chang'an City.

But since the emergence of the southern fleet, the price of spices was instantly brought down. It was not as cheap as cabbage, but it was several times cheaper than before.

The goods carried by the fleet were naturally handed over to Li Su and Li Lizhi to deal with, while Li Xiang sat in Jingzhao Prefecture and began to check the documents sent from Dengzhou and Youzhou.

This is a routine matter every year. Xu Jingzong and Feng Qing must report to Li Xiang every detail of what happened in the past year.

Given the unique status of these two special economic zones, Li Xiang will naturally review them personally and then give specific guidance.

With the development of the two places, the economic development of the surrounding areas has also been driven.

Currently, the three major economic centers of the Tang Dynasty are the Chang'an-Luoyang economic circle, the Youzhou economic circle, and the Dengzhou economic circle.

Within the radiation range of these three places, the quality of life of the people has been significantly improved.

In the past, Hebei, such as Fanyang, Qinghe and other places, was still prosperous, but compared with these places, it could be said that there was a world of difference.

Looking through the documents in his hand, Li Xiang was basically satisfied with the current development of the Tang Dynasty.

Although it has not developed as fast as expected, it has already exceeded expectations.

At the same time, Li Xiang was also thinking about the next stage of development. He gathered Di Renjie and Luo Binwang together and began to summarize the current development achievements of the Tang Dynasty, intending to build on the existing achievements and develop based on specific analysis of specific issues.

This was no small task, and until the New Year, Li Xiang had only completed about half of the work.

While in the Liangyi Hall, Li Shimin was also planning what to do next.

There were only him and Changsun Wuji in the hall. Li Shimin was reading memorials at the top, while Changsun Wuji was drinking tea at the bottom.

It is now the hour of Wei, which is three o'clock in the 24-hour clock.

As the saying goes, it’s a little after three o’clock, so let’s drink tea first. It’s nothing surprising for Changsun Wuji to drink two sips of tea.

As Old Li watched, he began to lose his focus.

My original focus was on Youzhou's development report, but as I read on, I began to think about what to eat in the evening and what I should name Xianger's future child.

By the time he came to his senses, Changsun Wuji had already drunk three cups of tea.

Old Li sighed, time is really unforgiving.

"I'm getting old..." he said to himself with emotion.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" Changsun Wuji raised his head. He didn't hear clearly what Li Shimin had just said.

"Nothing, I'm just lamenting that time is not forgiving." Li Shimin shook his head and said, "I'm getting old. Ever since I had a serious illness in Cuiwei Palace, I've often felt weak since I recovered. Look, I was just reading the memorials from Youzhou, but as I was reading, I was already thinking about what to eat in the evening."

"How could it be so?" Changsun Wuji put down his teacup and said, "But Your Majesty, you are only fifty years old this year, right?"

"Why do they say time is unforgiving?" Li Shimin spread out his five fingers: "We are all fifty years old. We are no longer the young men we were in Taiyuan. Once we get crazy, we will be energetic until the end of the night..."

Zhang Sun Wuji immediately persuaded him with a serious face: "Your Majesty is in the prime of life. When Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty started the rebellion, he was already 48 years old. He fought for seven years before he won the world, but he still didn't say he was old. Your Majesty is in the prime of life, how can you say you are old so easily?"

Look at Changsun Wuji, his angle is very unique.

He did not cite Liu Bei as an example, but Liu Bang, a winner in life who founded the 400-year foundation of the Han Dynasty. He also sounds good.

Of course, as a minister, it would be somewhat inappropriate to use Liu Bei as an example. Liu Bei is only suitable for Lao Li to compare himself to.

Moreover, in the eyes of politicians of ancient and modern times, Liu Bang's image is not the rogue image in the eyes of blind historians.

Even that old man who was well-versed in history praised Liu Bang as "the most powerful among the feudal emperors". Do you think his level could be bad?

"What virtue and ability do I have to be compared with the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty?" Li Shimin waved his hands modestly, but his expression showed great satisfaction.

Of course, neither he nor Zhangsun Wuji were wrong. According to the "Records of the Grand Historian", after Liu Bang's death, the ministers agreed that his temple name was Taizu, and his honorific title was Gaohuangdi. His full name was Han Taizu Gaohuangdi, so his temple name should be Han Taizu, and his honorific title should be Han Gaodi, rather than Han Gaozu as later generations commonly called him.

However, "Records of the Grand Historian: The Annals of Emperor Gaozu" first referred to Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu, and later emperors after the Western Han Dynasty all respectfully called him Emperor Gaozu to show their respect for Liu Bang.

However, the text of the "Book of Han" written by Ban Gu was the same, and in order to avoid misunderstanding, he replaced "Gaozu" in "Records of the Grand Historian" with "Emperor".

If it is a full name, it is generally called "Taizu Gaohuangdi"; if it is an abbreviation, it is generally called "Emperor Gaozu of Han".

As the legal saying goes, misrepresentation does not affect the true meaning, which is somewhat true.

"Your Majesty is a man of both literary and military talents. He braved wind and rain to found the Tang Dynasty. Naturally, you can be compared to Emperor Gaozu of Han." Changsun Wuji flattered him.

Li Shimin pointed at Zhangsun Wuji with a smile, and then asked: "Fuji, you have been following me for more than 30 years, right?"

"To be precise, it has been thirty-nine years since I and the late queen were driven out of our home in the sixth year of Daye and came to my uncle's house in Taiyuan and met Erlang." Changsun Wuji said, stroking his beard.

Now we are reminiscing about the past years, so the name is naturally changed to Erlang.

When it comes to emotional intelligence, Changsun Wuji is much better than Brother Feng.

"I remember that I fell in love with Guanyin at first sight. You were so unwilling to do that." Li Shimin said with a smile, "I was riding on the wall of Duke Shen's house, and you chased me away with a broom. Why were you so unwilling at that time? You were guarding against me like a thief?"

"Only a lecher would ride on someone else's wall." Changsun Wuji said speechlessly.

Only when recalling the old days would Changsun Wuji temporarily put aside his status as a monarch and his subject, and recall the glorious past with Li Shimin from the perspective of a friend and an uncle.

In fact, it is easy to understand. Not to mention Li Shimin, the emperor who was very considerate to his old brother, even Zhu Yuanzhang might not care that in the 30th year of Hongwu, one of Empress Ma's biological brothers pulled him and called him Chongba affectionately when recalling the past.

As for loving your wife, loving her and loving her family is a basic principle.

Don’t 6.

"Hahahaha..." Li Shimin burst into laughter. After a while, he said, "Fortunately, the queen did not listen to your slander, otherwise I would not have married such a virtuous woman."

"Yes." Changsun Wuji also sighed.

"It's a pity that the Queen..."

When Li Shimin said this, he couldn't help choking up, and the little pearl fell down as soon as he said it.

Zhang Sun Wuji was already used to this kind of scene. He just consoled him, "Your Majesty, the person has passed away. You should always look forward. The Queen gave you three good sons and four good daughters. Now they are living in harmony with each other. The Queen's spirit in heaven will be pleased to see this."

"Yes, you are right." Li Shimin sniffed, "Speaking of Gao Ming and Qing Que, they were enemies at first. If it weren't for Xiang'er mediating, I'm afraid the two brothers would have turned against each other and never had any contact with each other again."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is intelligent, benevolent and filial. I'm afraid it would be difficult to find such a crown prince even if you search through all the history books." Changsun Wuji said sincerely.

Li Shimin choked for a moment. He really went over this sentence in his mind and searched his memory. It seemed that none of these successors in history could compare to Li Xiang.

Thinking of this, some ideas in Li Shimin's mind gradually became firmer.

"Assistant, what do you think..." Old Li thought for a moment, and then said, "I am already running out of energy. If I continue to be the emperor, it may not be of any benefit to the Tang Dynasty. So I am thinking of stepping down and protecting my successor."

These words...

Changsun Wuji took a deep breath, and a sharp explosion came from his heart.

How can I respond to this, my dear brother-in-law!

Before he finished his speech, he heard Li Shimin continue speaking.

"I intend to abdicate..."

(Two more chapters delivered! Can you give me some monthly tickets?!)

(End of this chapter)