Tang Dynasty: The beginning of the game is to touch the Princess Changle

"I, the humble commoner, pay my respects to His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei!"

After the twelve noble family heads paid their respects to Li Shimin and the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei, they bowed to the ministers.

Finally, they found Su Chen following behind them, and bowed again and said in unison:

"We pay our respects to the Marquis!"

"You are too polite, the family heads. I don't deserve it!" Su Chen hurriedly followed suit and bowed.

But this scene was a bit strange. Logically, the emperor should have spoken first, asking them to stand up without formalities.

But it was unexpected that Su Chen spoke first.

"Gao Ming and Qing Que pay their respects to the family heads!"

Li Chengqian and Li Tai bowed to the family heads of the noble families at the same time. Although they called themselves humble commoners, their status was not low.

"I guess you have never had lunch. I will hold a banquet in the manor today. Please taste some fresh dishes.

You can discuss other matters with the prince on the way. What do you think?" After everyone exchanged greetings and politeness, Li Shimin directly proposed to leave the city.

"We will follow your majesty's arrangements!" The twelve family heads said respectfully in unison.

"Hahaha, then follow me out of the city. I have prepared a carriage outside the Suzaku Gate." Li Shimin took the lead and left.

The Suzaku Gate is about ten miles away from the Mingde Gate, which is nearly half of the distance from the manor to the imperial city.

After the three carriages left the Mingde Gate, a family head suggested abandoning the carriage and walking for a while.

Leaving the carriage, Su Chen walked on the cement road. Just thinking about it was exciting in this hot day.

Only twelve family heads were present this time, and the other family head was not in Chang'an now.

It was almost noon now, and there were not many people on the road.

When everyone came to the cement stele, they found some symbols on it that they could not understand.

"May I ask His Royal Highness, please forgive my ignorance, what does the symbol in this inscription mean?"

Li Shimin had previously told them to discuss with the prince, and if they did not understand, they could ask him questions.

"Master Li, this symbol is a lowercase number from Lord Su. This number is magical and convenient for calculation and accounting, without any mistakes!"

"This inscription means: This road is 12 miles long and passes through six villages.

It took 25 days, and the cost of one mile of cement road was 25,000 strings of cash." Li Chengqian looked at the inscription and explained to the heads of the families, but he did not know why the last line of words was the eleventh year of the Tang Dynasty.

Su Chen temporarily decided to change the cost to 25,000 strings of cash. In the future, the cost of road construction may increase due to the long distance and inconvenient transportation.

After hearing the cost of one mile, the heads of the families had a clear idea.

They did not know whether this price was reasonable or not, but they thought they could accept it.

Li Tai also took them to see the drainage ditch and slope protection, and explained their functions.

Everyone got on the carriage and stopped when passing the village. Li Tai explained the benefits of the village road and the main road.

The heads of the various families personally felt that riding a carriage on this cement road was different from the previous one. The bumpy feeling was very small, but the carriage was not soundproof and the sound of the wheels was more obvious than before.

…

After two quarters of an hour, everyone got off the carriage at the manor.

When Li Shimin and others arrived at the manor, there were four tables in the hall and the dishes were ready.

Su Chen was surprised that there were several pork dishes on the table. Who ordered the pigs to be slaughtered today?

"Dear family heads, we will talk about the road construction after dinner. I think you have never tasted these dishes. Today, everyone should drink less and eat more vegetables.

No need to be so polite. I am going out in casual clothes today, hahaha!"

After Li Shimin finished speaking, he found a seat and sat down first.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your hospitality!" The family heads bowed and thanked them. As soon as they entered the hall, they smelled the fragrance.

Those second-generation officials did not perform any formalities when they saw Li Shimin coming to the manor.

After Li Shimin and others were seated, they chose to sit at a table far away from Li Shimin.

"Everyone, please take a seat and taste these delicious dishes." Li Shimin picked up the chopsticks and started eating first.

But he looked much more dignified than usual.

But some of the family heads did not dare to use their chopsticks. Who would have thought that they would have a meal at the same table with the emperor and the prince?

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, please forgive me for my boldness!" In the end, Li Shanhuai stood up and apologized.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Patriarch Li, there is no need to be polite outside the palace today. Please come in!"

"I and others, thank you, Your Majesty!"

Afterwards, the family heads were relieved and carefully tasted the dishes they had never eaten before.

The family heads picked up the unfamiliar dishes in front of them and tasted them slowly. They were surprised after they took them.

Finally, they understood what Your Majesty said. These delicious dishes were indeed something they had never tasted before.

They wanted to ask, but they also knew that they should not talk while eating, especially when they were sitting at the same table with the emperor.

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Su will answer them for you. No problem!" Since Li Shimin met Su Chen, many rules have been subtly influenced to get closer to Su Chen.The heads of the families politely asked Su Chen what the main ingredients of the dishes were, and Su Chen told them the truth.

When they learned that it was pig meat, they were surprised. The pig meat they knew was not this taste.

Su Chen also explained to everyone the method of raising pigs to remove throats, and told them that it would be popularized soon.

A meal that made both the host and the guests happy!

…

After eating and drinking, Li Shimin sat on the main seat and took a nap, and other ministers also closed their eyes to rest.

Not to mention Su Chen, who had already gone away.

Only Li Chengqian and Li Tai cheered up and discussed investment promotion with the heads of the families.

"May I ask the prince, Your Highness the King of Wei, how can we participate in the cooperation in road construction?"

This time, Li Shanhuai was still the representative to communicate with the royal family, because the last time the matter of fine salt was discussed very well.

"Master Li, and all the masters, please read this explanation first. If you have any questions, I and King Wei will answer them one by one."

Li Chengqian handed the three pieces of paper to Li Shanhuai, who took them respectfully.

They were familiar with this scene. The matter of the salt mining rights after Snowflake Salt was to read the explanation first.

There was only one copy of the investment promotion explanation this time, and they could only circulate it among each other.

After about two quarters of an hour, everyone finished reading the contents of the three papers. Except for some unfamiliar words, they could understand all the contents.

I couldn't help but sigh in my heart: That Lord Su is really an extraordinary person.

Investment promotion, what a good word, this method is also clever, both parties can benefit.

They are all sure that this investment promotion must have come from Su Chen.

The two brothers Li Chengqian quietly waited for them to ask questions.

"May I ask the prince, Your Highness, how is the toll priced?"

Lu Changfeng asked first. This is not only to collect tolls from other merchants, but they will also become toll payers in the future.

"The court only stipulates that pedestrians on foot are free, and carriages are charged per person, 3 wen per toll station."

Li Chengqian gave a price based on Su Chen's suggestion. The charging model of this cement road is: pay once after passing a toll station.

Calculate the distance between each toll station and the previous toll station in advance.

"As for the charges for merchants to transport goods, the investors will set the price themselves. Lord Su gave a suggestion that a unified charging standard can be formulated based on the amount or value of the goods and the distance."

After listening to this, the heads of the families nodded frequently and agreed with what Li Chengqian said above.

"Lord Su once said: charging can only be done in large quantities, and profits cannot be earned through high prices, but rather a long-term stream of income."

Li Chengqian continued to add a sentence.

"Your Highness, we all agree with what you said above. How can we pay for it?"

At this point, it means that they have agreed to pay for the road construction.

Then the conference room that Su Chen had people renovate would no longer be needed.