Chapter 48: Buying a Princess Title

The court ministers looked toward the entrance in bewilderment, wondering whom Emperor Taizong had summoned. Moments later, Li Shen walked in. Unaware of the purpose behind his appearance, the officials all turned their gazes upon him.

"Greetings, Father," Li Shen said.

"Hmm. Do you have business here?" Li Taizong asked.

Without beating around the bush, Li Shen replied, "Father, I am here to make a donation."

"A donation?" Li Taizong was puzzled.

"Yes, a charitable contribution. I heard that numerous prefectures and counties in Guanneidao have been struck by a locust plague, resulting in a poor harvest and food shortages. My elder sister, Li Mengjiang, is of a most kind and gentle nature, unable to bear the suffering of the common folk. Upon hearing of this disaster, she was grief-stricken and wished to do something for the people. However, as she is a woman, it is inconvenient for her to attend court. Therefore, she sent me in her stead. In the name of Li Mengjiang, the twelfth daughter of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang, I hereby donate one hundred thousand guan of currency and fifty thousand dan of grain to the disaster-stricken populace of Guanneidao. Furthermore, my sister will spend three days praying in the Princess's Palace for the afflicted people, wishing that they may weather this crisis." Li Shen deliberately raised his voice so all could hear.

As soon as Li Shen finished speaking, the grand hall fell into absolute silence. No one had expected Li Shen to produce such a staggering amount of wealth and provisions. Everyone knew this came from Li Shen himself—how could Li Mengjiang possibly possess such vast resources?

Upon his throne, Emperor Taizong was equally shocked. In this era, philanthropy was not as customary as in later generations, and donations were exceedingly rare. A wealthy landlord who funded a bridge or paved a road was already hailed as a great philanthropist. For Li Shen to casually present such immense wealth and grain left Taizong utterly confused as to his son's motives.

"His Royal Highness the Prince of Ji is truly righteous!"

"Indeed, the Prince of Ji possesses boundless benevolence!"

"The Prince of Ji is truly humane, rescuing the people from water and fire."

One court official after another showered praise upon Li Shen for his monumental feat.

"My lords, my lords, you have misunderstood," Li Shen hastily clarified, waving his hands. "These donations have nothing to do with me. They were given by my sister, Li Mengjiang. While I, too, possess a modicum of benevolence, as Your Excellencies have undoubtedly heard, this Prince loves wealth. Therefore, this donation has nothing to do with me."

"Her Highness the Princess is of noble character," Changsun Wuji interjected first. He was beginning to grasp Li Shen's true intentions.

"Indeed. The Princess is truly noble," Fang Xuanling echoed, though since Li Mengjiang had not yet been granted a formal title, he was temporarily at a loss for how to address her.

Following their lead, the other officials stepped forward to praise Li Mengjiang's warm heart and benevolence.

"There is one more thing I must state," Li Shen added. "The Ministry of Revenue must issue detailed ledgers regarding the expenditure of the funds and grain my sister has donated. I do not want these supplies ending up in individual pockets; I must know where every last coin goes. I shall also dispatch my own agents to investigate in secret. Whoever dares to pocket my money and live in luxury shall find life extremely difficult."

"This... with such a massive sum of money and grain, how can we possibly compile such detailed accounts?" Tang Jian groaned, breaking out in a sweat.

"If even this cannot be achieved, then the amount of water mixed into the revenues collected annually by the Ministry of Revenue must be staggering." Li Shen's blunt remark instantly caused Tang Jian's face to drain of color. Wasn't this young prince deliberately making things difficult for him?

"I care about nothing else; my sister's funds and grain must be strictly accounted for, and I will send people to investigate. In short, the Ministry of Revenue need only convey my words to the local magistrates and remind them that I am a man who loves money." Li Shen did not press the Ministry of Revenue further, merely using them to issue a warning to the local officials.

"Mengjiang has a good heart," Emperor Taizong said, beginning to understand what Li Shen was driving at.

"Your Majesty, the Twelfth Princess is compassionate, aids the weak, rescues those in peril, and possesses a heart of gold. Truly, she is a blessing to the Great Tang and a blessing to Your Majesty." Fang Xuanling, comprehending Li Shen's underlying aim and noticing that Emperor Taizong had also caught on, decided to do Li Shen a favor while simultaneously providing the Emperor with a graceful way out.

"Prime Minister Fang's words are spot on. Wang De, draft the imperial edict: My twelfth daughter, Li Mengjiang, has been intelligent since childhood, virtuous, decorous, pure of heart, and ever ready to aid the distressed and imperilled. In times of national crisis, she has opened her coffers generously to share my burdens. In accordance with precedent, let her be invested as the Princess of Linchuan Commandery, with an appanage of three thousand households, a real fief of three hundred households, ten bolts of brocade, two pieces of coral, and three sets of imperial princess attire."

Once Wang De finished writing, Emperor Taizong reviewed the edict and stamped it with the imperial seal. He ordered that copies be sent to the Three Departments for archival purposes and a proclamation issued nationwide. Because the Emperor had announced it in person, the Three Departments were spared the trouble of submitting deliberations.

Li Shen hastily expressed his gratitude on behalf of Li Mengjiang. Naturally, a palace eunuch would be dispatched in the afternoon to deliver the decree. Yet inwardly, Li Shen muttered that this father of his was far too stingy, rewarding her with such paltry items, while her stipend remained bound by rigid regulations. Still, he decided to content himself with it; at least she finally had a proper title, and he didn't lack the money anyway.

The ministers, however, were struck completely dumb. Only now did they fully comprehend the situation: Li Shen had shelled out this immense fortune simply to buy an imperial princess title for Li Mengjiang. What an outrageously wealthy Prince of Ji he was!

Many remained perplexed, failing to understand why Li Shen would invest so heavily for the sake of Li Mengjiang, or what benefit it could possibly bring him. In this era where men were revered and women slighted, Li Shen's actions defied conventional understanding.

Emperor Taizong knew that Li Shen harbored lingering resentment against him for failing to confer a title upon his sister sooner, which was why the boy had resorted to buying one with cash. To Taizong, this felt rather awkward. It seemed the only way to dispel his son's grievance was to treat his sister better from now on.

Over the past period, Taizong had noticed that Li Shen placed an extraordinary emphasis on familial affection, remaining exceptionally close to his siblings, giving money whenever they needed it and offering help without hesitation. This was especially true regarding his birth mother, Consort Wei, and Li Mengjiang. You could treat Li Shen with indifference, and he would not mind in the least; but woe betide anyone who bullied Consort Wei or Li Mengjiang. All the money Li Shen earned was kept in Consort Wei's hands, amounting to several times the wealth in the inner treasury. Because of past estrangement, Taizong's relationship with Li Shen had not been particularly close, causing him to hesitate and lose face whenever he wanted a stake in the lucrative alcohol business. Lately, however, the increased frequency of his overnight stays at the Daji Palace—partly due to Empress Changsun's frail health and need for rest, but largely out of a desire to mend fences—was proof of his changing approach.

Seeing that his business was concluded, Li Shen prepared to take his leave. To his surprise, Emperor Taizong called out, "Prince of Ji, the court ministers are presently deliberating on how to handle the disaster relief. Do you have any views on the matter?"

The ministers were baffled as to why Emperor Taizong would consult a nine-year-old child when even they were at their wits' end.

"Father, is such a simple matter even worth discussing?" Li Shen said offhandedly. "Distribute grain for disaster relief, provide work in lieu of relief, reduce or exempt taxes, and capture the locusts."

"Hmph, spoken lightly, but these are measures the ministers have already proposed. Tell me *how* to implement work in lieu of relief, and *how* to capture the locusts," Taizong said, feeling a touch of disappointment upon hearing that Li Shen's ideas mirrored their own.

"Very well, then I shall elaborate. Distributing grain for relief goes without saying. But let me make one point clear: how is the grain distributed? The elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled should be registered and given grain directly. Able-bodied adults, however, receive no free grain; instead, they must work in exchange for relief. Whether it is digging irrigation canals, repairing roads, or mending city walls—as long as they labor, they get grain. Give them a generous amount; don't be stingy. Is that clear?" Li Shen paused and asked.

The ministers nodded in understanding.

"I won't dwell on tax reductions and exemptions. Let us talk about catching locusts. I know the common people are unwilling to catch them, and some are even afraid to do so, believing the plague is a wrath of Heaven that will bring divine retribution. Am I right?" Li Shen asked again.

"Your Royal Highness the Prince of Ji is entirely correct. Every time an imperial edict is issued, the results are far from ideal, and the local officials are utterly helpless," Fang Xuanling said.

"Hmph! There is nothing in this world that cannot be accomplished with enough money. If something fails, it simply means the funds are insufficient. When the Three Departments issue the decree, kindly add a sentence on my behalf: the Jingpin Pavilion will dispatch agents to every county to purchase locusts at the rate of two copper coins per pound. If the common folk bring them all the way to Changian, the Jingpin Pavilion will buy them for five copper coins a pound. In a moment, I will write down methods for preparing and storing them, and you can issue those instructions along with the decree. A locust plague? Why, we'll hunt them to extinction! By then, the common people will only wish the locust plague had been even larger."

Li Shen said with utter disdain. What was so difficult about this? The things ordinary people were unwilling to do were merely due to insufficient incentives. In later generations, anything edible eventually became a protected species.

"Simple and brutal," Li Chengqian summarized Li Shen's approach in four words.

The ministers were utterly dumbfounded. So it could be done this way! In the end, things might truly turn out as Li Shen predicted: driven by profit, the populace might actually lament that the scale of the locust plague was too small. Yet again, the Prince of Ji remained as straightforward as ever, solving a complex problem with crude and direct methods lacking any technical subtlety. They all assumed Li Shen would be pouring his own money into this bottomless pit, completely unaware that in his previous life, this rural lad had roasted and deep-fried locusts as a snack, packed with pure protein.