"I haven't come for a long time, and your school is becoming more and more prosperous. I heard that not only the nearby children come to school, but even some poor children from Chang'an City are willing to send their children to study." Li Shimin smiled and said to Li Xiu. He came in casual clothes today, and only had a few guards around him. Speaking of which, since he became emperor, he has rarely traveled in casual clothes like he is now.

"Thank you for your praise. There are indeed more and more students in the school. And this year, some of them have graduated from older students. Some of them have been discussed with our Ministry of Agriculture. After graduation, they will join the Ministry of Agriculture to work. Maybe they can get official status in the future." Li Xiu also smiled and said.

However, Li Xiu felt a little uncomfortable about Li Shimin's arrival, because he refused Li Shimin's recruitment twice before, and obviously he didn't want to get involved in the court again. Li Shimin could definitely guess what he was thinking, but he actually came to see him on his own initiative, which was not a good sign for Li Xiu.

"Oh? I didn't expect that this is the official prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture. It's not bad. These students have learned the knowledge you have taught since childhood. There are officials from the Ministry of Agriculture who can give guidance at any time. In the future, they will definitely be more suitable for the Ministry of Agriculture than the officials selected from outside!" Li Shimin couldn't help but say admiringly when he heard Li Xiu's words.

Among all the yamen, officials naturally have to be assigned by the court, but the recruitment of minor officials is handed over to each yamen for their own handling. The Ministry of Agriculture is a very technical government agency, so the requirements of the officials in it are different from other places, so it is difficult to find suitable officials here. However, the students specially trained in the school have solved this problem.

However, when Li Shimin said this, he suddenly turned his head and smiled at Li Xiu, "By the way, the Ministry of Agriculture's task of promoting corn and sweet potatoes has been completed. Although there are other things to do now, there are not many things to do. Li Xiu, you shouldn't be very busy during this period, right?"

"This..." Li Xiu felt a little anxious when he heard this. The things he was worried about finally came, but he still said with a shameless face, "Report to Your Majesty, our Ministry of Agriculture has been studying the application and promotion of cotton recently. There are many things, such as some utensils used during textiles and ginsenging, which require me to personally participate in the development."

"Is that so? Why did I hear that cotton utensils have been developed, and even some samples of cotton cloth have been woven. I have seen them with my own eyes. They are indeed very well weaved." Li Shimin raised his eyebrows at this time, and then looked at Li Xiu with some fun, exposing his lies.

"The cotton cloth is indeed woven, but whether it is textile or cotton ginning, these utensils have a lot of room for improvement, and this happens to be my strength, so I still have to do the next thing!" Although it was exposed by Li Shimin, Li Xiu still said without changing his expression. After all, this is his strength, and it is still very easy to fool Li Shimin.

However, Li Shimin obviously came prepared, but now he showed a solemn expression: "The cotton matter is indeed very important. Maybe it can become one of the foundations of a rich country like silk and porcelain in the future. However, there is another thing that needs you, so I hope you don't refuse!"

"Your Majesty, I..."

Of course, Li Xiu could not agree easily, so he immediately prepared to refuse, but he did not expect Li Shimin interrupted him immediately and said, "Li Xiu, you should have visited your father before, and you must also know his physical condition. The imperial doctor told me that the father may not last for a few years. If the father dies, he will definitely choose a site to build the imperial tomb. Moreover, the scale of the imperial tomb must not be too small. All these need to be prepared in advance. As a son of man, I need to be responsible for this matter personally, but I have too many affairs and can't take time. After thinking about it, only you can help me!"

When Li Shimin spoke at the end, he also showed a sincere expression on his face, and Li Xiu was also stunned when he heard this. He did not expect that Li Shimin would actually ask him to be responsible for the construction of Li Yuan’s imperial tomb, but this request made him unable to refuse. After all, he was Li Yuan’s son-in-law and an important minister of the Tang Dynasty. There were really few civil and military officials in the court who were more suitable for doing this than him.

"Your Majesty, if you build the imperial tomb now, will it cause some gossip?" However, Li Xiu quickly thought of another question, and said with some concern at the moment. After all, Li Yuan was imprisoned by Li Shimin, and Li Yuan is not dead yet. Li Shimin is planning to build an imperial tomb for Li Yuan. This may make people think that Li Shimin wishes Li Li Yuan would die early, and even Li Yuan would feel uncomfortable when he heard this news.

"It's okay, I'm already in a bad reputation, and it's nothing more than that. Of course, this matter cannot be done explicitly. In addition, when my mother passed away, my father said that I would be buried with her, so I was going to move my mother's tomb first, so there would be an excuse to build the imperial tomb!" When Li Shimin mentioned his mother, Empress Dou, a look of sadness appeared on his face.

Empress Dou died in the former Sui Dynasty, and she accompanied Li Yuan to work in Zhuo County, but died there. In the end, Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng personally helped the tomb to send their mother back to their hometown in Taiyuan for burial. So when she mentioned her mother, Li Shimin also thought of Li Jiancheng, and even felt sorry for her mother.

"This..." Li Xiu couldn't help but look embarrassed when he heard this. As a son-in-law, he really couldn't refuse this matter, because it was strictly not a matter in the court, but a family matter for them. After all, the son-in-law is half a son, especially Empress Dou, who only has three sons and one daughter in total. There is no need to say about Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. Li Shimin had no time, and the only one left was Princess Pingyang, as her husband, and naturally had to help Princess Pingyang take on this matter.

"Li Xiu, I should have discussed this with my third sister, but you also know that my third sister has always refused to see me again, so I can only come to find you. Moreover, the matter of moving to the tomb for my mother is of great importance. Apart from you and my third sister, I can't find anyone else to help me!" Li Shimin smiled bitterly again at this time.

After saying this, Li Xiu had to say helplessly: "Okay, this is a family matter. I believe Xiuning will definitely agree, but before I agree, I hope Your Majesty will send me a helper, otherwise I will not dare to take on such an important thing."

Whether it is the location of the imperial tomb or the relocation of Empress Dou's tomb, it needs to be followed by the etiquette of the Tang Dynasty, but this aspect is Li Xiu's weakness, so he clearly proposed to ask for a helper, and he already had a suitable candidate in his heart...
Chapter completed!