A group of eunuchs carrying food boxes stood outside the hall. Deng Dengjie quickly scurried out, exchanged quiet words with the eunuchs, and returned to the hall to report to Li Shimin.
"Your Majesty, the porridge is ready."
"Bring it in. I am indeed hungry right now!"
"Get brocade stools for everyone to sit and drink porridge."
"Yes!"
Deng Dengjie beckoned the eunuchs outside and then ran to instruct the imperial guards to fetch stools.
After the stools were brought into the hall, Li Shimin casually sat back behind the imperial desk and said to everyone in the hall,
"Sit, everyone, sit and drink porridge."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Everyone sat down, took the porridge bowls handed to them, and upon a gentle sniff, the fragrant aroma filled their nostrils, whetting their appetites.
Li Shimin picked up the spoon, tasted a couple of mouthfuls, and frowned.
"This porridge is too unpleasant to drink!"
"I have decided. From today onwards, the palace will cease eating rice and noodles. The grains saved will be sent to the Imperial Granary!"
"Everyone in the palace will eat dried fish!"
Fang Er looked at him in astonishment. What, was this guy so picky about his taste?
He tried a mouthful of the fish porridge in his own bowl. This tasted not bad at all!
Then he saw an extremely shameless side of Li Shimin. He directly threw his spoon onto the imperial desk, picked up the bowl, and drank it down in one gulp, then handed the empty bowl to Deng Dengjie.
"Give me another bowl. It's so unpleasant to drink, and as the ruler of a nation, I must share more of this burden with everyone."
This time, not just Fang Er, but everyone looked at him in surprise.
Damn it!
Could it be so exaggerated!
It was just a bowl of fish porridge, yet it made the dignified ruler of a nation act so shamelessly?
The Dukes glanced at the porridge in their bowls, tried a mouthful, and after a couple of chews, their eyes instantly lit up. While drinking the porridge, they waved to the eunuchs.
"Quick, give this lord another bowl, no, two more bowls!"
"Your Majesty is right. This porridge is too unpleasant to drink. As subjects, we must share the worries of our ruler!"
"Yes, yes, yes, give this lord two bowls as well!"
"This old man wants three bowls!"
"Give me five bowls!"
"No, no, no, three bowls or five bowls isn't enough. Go to the Imperial Kitchen and pack up the pot for this old man. I'll take it with me later!"
"How can such unpleasant porridge be worthy of Your Majesty's palate?"
Well, with Li Shimin setting the example, these Dukes were even more excessive than each other. Especially Yu Shinan, this old fellow actually proposed to take the pot away!
This was too much!
This meal of fish porridge made a group of Dukes, from those in their thirties to those in their eighties, extremely satisfied.
While they were satisfied, the attending eunuchs were busy, running back and forth to the Imperial Kitchen. In the end, they had no choice but to actually carry the pot over.
"Kid, is this fish easy to catch?"
Li Shimin wiped away the milky white broth from his lips and asked Fang Er.
"The fish are delicious, but we must also understand the yield."
"Please Your Majesty to step outside the hall." Fang Er said, keeping him in suspense.
Li Shimin, not understanding the reason, still rose from behind the imperial desk and walked towards the hall's exit.
Everyone followed him outside.
Upon reaching the plaza outside the hall, Fang Er walked to the giant globe. This item had been exposed to the elements for more than two years, and under the maintenance of the Ministry of Works, it looked as good as new.
This was Li Shimin's treasure!
He found the location of Bohai Bay and pointed his finger at Li Shimin and the Dukes.
"Your Majesty, esteemed Dukes, please look here."
"The seabed here is a basin. The seafloor is not too deep, and there are abundant algae, so there are many small fish and shrimp."
"As the saying goes, big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp."
"With so many small fish and shrimp, big fish naturally flock here."
"However, the fishermen's catching capacity is limited, so the catches here far exceed your imagination."
"These ten million catties of dried fish were made using double the amount of fresh fish."
"These twenty million catties of fresh fish were caught in just four days!"
"And this is only the first batch."
Fang Er stopped speaking and smiled, looking at everyone.
"Hiss~~!"
"Four days!"
Everyone gasped again.
Four days, twenty million catties of fresh fish. Before, no one would have believed this to be true.
But now, the delicious fish porridge in their stomachs reminded them constantly that this was true!
Li Shimin was stunned!
He had been boasting for a while, but in the face of Fang Er's statement of twenty million catties in four days, he felt completely outdone!
Imagining the mountain-like catches, he clenched his fist and looked at Fang Er.
"I want to go see!"
Fang Er: ???
"Go ahead if you want. All of Great Tang is yours, where do you want to go that you can't? Why do you look so troubled?"
"Your subject obeys the decree."
Li Shimin nodded slightly, then looked at the Dukes.
"I want to go see."
"Your subject wishes to accompany you."
"Your subject wishes to accompany you."
"Your subject wishes to accompany you."
His tone clearly indicated that he wanted to bring people along. Thus, Li Jing, who held an important position and could not leave the capital, and the other Dukes stepped forward.
"Report~~~~~~"
Just as Li Shimin was about to say something, a soldier from the Hundred Guard Division, covered in blood, ran over from Chengtian Gate, shouting.
Upon seeing them, he came directly before Li Shimin, knelt on one knee, and clasped his fist.
"Qingzhou Hundred Guard Division, Zhu Ziwen, greets Your Majesty!"
"What is the matter!" Li Shimin, whose mood had been good moments ago, instantly turned cold upon seeing Zhu Ziwen's bloodstained attire.
"Bloodstained armor means there is military intelligence!"
"Reporting to Your Majesty! The Third Division, Second Regiment of the Skyfire Army was ambushed in Laizhou territory while escorting national bonds. The entire army was annihilated, and two million national bonds were stolen!"
Zhu Ziwen, with tears in his voice, finished reporting the intelligence and then kowtowed heavily on the ground.
Fang Er was stunned!
Liu Meng's Third Division, Second Regiment, was annihilated? And two million national bonds were stolen?
Everyone present changed their expressions.
Li Shimin's eyes blazed: "The elite of the Skyfire Army, capable of fighting ten enemies at once, who are these attackers!"
Zhu Ziwen, with tears in his eyes and a pained expression, replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject does not know."
"The intelligence was sent by a colleague from the Laizhou Hundred Guard Division via a civilian to Qingzhou. According to that civilian, after the Laizhou colleague handed him the intelligence, he succumbed to his severe injuries and died."
"Furthermore, while traveling to the capital, your subject was also ambushed by bandits. Out of a hundred accompanying brothers, only your subject survived."
"Your Majesty, please allow your subject to take his leave."
Fang Er's heart was bleeding. The Skyfire Army had never suffered such heavy casualties since its establishment. This matter must be thoroughly investigated.
Li Shimin was already furious. Attacking national bonds and ambushing the Hundred Guard Division was utter lawlessness!
"Order the Duke of Shenyang to immediately proceed to Laizhou for investigation! Dispatch five hundred men from the Capital Hundred Guard Division to accompany him!"
"Order the Shandong Circuit Hundred Guard Division to cooperate fully!"
"Order the Dengzhou Protectorate's thirty thousand garrison troops to cooperate fully!"
"Order the Prince of Hejian to return to Dengzhou immediately upon receiving this decree, without delay!"
"Order the Magistrate of Wannian County, Jiang Shi, to accompany them. If the Prefect of Laizhou is derelict in his duty, he is to be investigated on the spot, and Jiang Shi will take over his position!"
"Once this case is verified, all the culprits will be executed without mercy!"