Li Shimin greeted Li Yuanai for dinner.

Li Shimin did not avoid suspicion. In front of Li Yuanai, Xiao Yizi asked Li Zhi's views on the recent government affairs of the temple.

The so-called "don't speak" does not mean that you cannot speak when eating, but that you should not speak when you are chewing things in your mouth. You are vague and rude to talk to others.

On the contrary, the Tang Dynasty had a routine of having dinner and discussing matters.

Especially the prime ministers, they had lunch working meals, and several giants gathered together to have dinner, and they were talking about national affairs.

If you really don’t say a word and concentrate on eating, you will mock you only know how to eat.

Li Yuanai's affairs are nothing to do with him, and he is just like listening to a book of heaven.

On the contrary, Li Zhi answered questions in a slight manner, and had his own opinions and opinions on matters of all sizes.

They said this, and suddenly Li Shimin praised Li Yuanai who was frowning with Xiao Yizi: "Since the implementation of the trolley, the grain harvests have been reported in various places, which has been significantly improved compared with previous years. Sixteen should be a great achievement."

Li Yuanai hurriedly said: "The emperor's brother has gone too far, so it's better to have some substantial rewards."

Li Shimin pretended not to hear it and continued: "Guanzhong is densely populated and consumed a lot of food. It produces itself, and some of the food is in short supply. It needs to be supplied from the south, but the journey is long and transported is not easy. Especially the canal is blocked or insufficient rainwater, which causes the water level to drop, which will add a lot of difficulty to the northward transfer of grain. Last autumn, the grain transport ship was stranded in the canal for two months, causing huge losses. What do you think of the Ministry of Revenue’s proposal to clear the canal?"

Li Zhi answered without hesitation and said: "The canal is the lifeline of the country and must be repaired. My son and I agree with the opinions of the Ministry of Revenue."

When Li Yuanai heard this, he suddenly remembered something and raised his hand and said, "I have something to say."

Li Shimin glanced at him and said, "If you have something to say, you will not treat you as an outsider when you discuss it in person."

Li Yuanai smiled "hehe" and said, "I think it is better to manage the canal than to repair it."

Li Shimin and Li Zhi both pricked their ears and listened seriously.

The former says: "What is better to cure than to cultivate?"

"The existence of the canal is contrary to the laws of nature!" Li Yuanai said a little solemnly: "In my country, the trends of the rivers are mostly from east to west, which are formed naturally because the terrain is high in the west and low in the east, and the water flows to the low places. The Grand Canal is connected from north to south, forcibly connects the canals with different heights and water flows without a unified direction. The Grand Canal is a river channel formed by forcibly changing the laws of nature, so the water levels vary from place to place, which is an existence that human power cannot control. It is like the tide rises and falls, when the tide rises and falls, the river water flows northward, and when the tide falls, the water of the canal rolls into the Yangtze River. The water level is entirely based on the will of heaven. The blockage of the Grand Canal channel is more due to the lack of water resources itself, not simply because of silt."

Li Shimin pondered: "It is indeed the reason. The speed of grain ships transporting is determined by the water level. We cannot control the sky, so we can only go against it and build cofferdams in various places to protect the loss of water resources."

Li Yuanai asked: "How effective?"

Li Shimin shook his head slightly and said, "It's not obvious, but it's really useful."

Li Yuanai said with some disdain: "The function of the cofferdam is more to protect farmland than to manage rivers! It can be said that it is quite stupid to use cofferdams to manage rivers..."

Li Shimin laughed and said, "You tell Shangshu Yan that he proposed the cofferdam to control the river."

"Ah!" Li Yuanai was stunned for awkwardly, "This is just pretending that my brother didn't say anything. He is half of my brother's boss and is also a friend I can talk to, so I won't tear him down."

Li Shimin also knew that his younger brother was quite frivolous and did not think it was strange, so he said, "Tell me quickly."

Li Yuanai said: "The canal connects these canals into one by continuously connecting the original canals. Different river canals and water resources are also different. We can build sluice gates in places with abundant water resources, and store water in the upper stream. When a court grain ship passes by, open the gate and release the water level to increase the water level for the ship to operate."

Li Shimin suddenly stood up and asked, "Is this method really feasible?"

"It's feasible!" Li Yuanai replied without hesitation: "I have a long history of building sluices in China. Sun Shuao, the emperor of Chu, set up five gates in Shaobi to dig in water. However, most of the sluices are used for water storage and irrigation, but not for raising the water level. This large amount of water storage is also a test for the sluice. It is naturally not possible to copy and decode. In addition to adapting to the times, the dam needs to be redesigned."

He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment: "Sixteen, how about the emperor's appointment of you as the Minister of the Ministry of Works of the School of Procuratorate?"

"Ha?" Li Yuanai didn't react for a moment.

Li Shimin laughed: "That is to say, your life is over. Give me a peace of mind, and take office immediately after receiving the appointment from the court."

Li Zhi from the opposite side also smiled indifferently and did not speak.

Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian, Hou Junji, and Du He talked about the wine.

Du He said: "Your Highness, the King of Wei has heard from him that they plan to recommend Wang Xisheng as the Minister of Works. We should act as soon as possible. The King of Wei is very popular among the people in the scholars. Wang Xisheng is a member of the Wang family of five surnames, with a wide connection and difficulty in budgeting. We must act as soon as possible. Only in this way can we send Mr. Hou to the Ministry of Works first."

Hou Junji looked unruly and said, "Why is Wang Xisheng? He is worthy of comparing with my Shenger?"

Before, Hou Junji led his troops to attack Gaochang. His army was unparalleled, defeating the enemy, and destroying Gaochang Kingdom in one fell swoop. The overlord of the northwest, the Western Turks, heard of Hou Junji's name, and was so scared that he flew thousands of miles away.

This great military merit has encouraged his rebelliousness.

Hou Junji took revenge and directly sent the person who offended him to Gaochang. He also took the treasures of Gaochang for himself and allowed the soldiers under his command to be thieves and thieves.

Hou Junji's move shocked the government and the public.

The Western Regions are now one of the economic lifelines of the Tang Dynasty.

Increasing the influence of the Western Regions and consolidating the Silk Road was a major strategy for the Li Tang Dynasty to enter the Western Regions.

Hou Junji's recklessness had a very bad influence. Li Shimin imprisoned Hou Junji for the sake of the overall situation. Then he used the Secretary of the Secretariat Cen Wenben to retrieve him.

This time, it's a process.

But Hou Junji did not think so. He felt that he had made great contributions but was imprisoned. Li Shimin dealt with injustice and directly ignored Li Shimin's promotion and cultivation over the past decades, and had the intention of rebellion.

It just so happened that Hou Junji's son-in-law Helan Chushi served in the Eastern Palace again. Under the recommendation of Helan Chushi, the two formed allies, one promised the position of prime minister and the other tried to ascend the throne.

It happened that the former Minister of Works and the Minister of Works made a mistake and was demoted, and the Ministry of Works and Works has a vacancy.

Li Chengqian directly proposed to let Hou Junji's son take over.
Chapter completed!