"That's what Li Xiu really said?" Li Yuan asked in Ganlu Palace with some disbelief.

"That's true. According to what he said, sweet potatoes not only have high yields, but also are not picky about land. They can grow in saline-alkali land or mountain land, and they don't need to be taken too much after planting. Of course, the yield will be lower, but it is much stronger than wheat!" Pei Ju said solemnly. He stayed at Li Xiu for most of the day and did not come back until it was late. However, except for warning him, Li Xiu never said anything valuable again, which also made Pei Ji very helpless.

"It's not picky, it's not stingy, and the yield is so high, but is there really such a grain crop in this world?" Li Yuan stroked his beard and said in disbelief again. He always felt that Li Xiu's words this time were not very reliable.

"I also have some doubts about this, especially Li Xiu said that the yield per mu is only a conservative estimate, and the actual output will only be more than this, not less than this. I originally wanted to show off the so-called sweet potato with my own eyes, but Li Xiu was very dissatisfied with my skepticism, and after that, I was too lazy to even explain, so I couldn't make any more requests." Pei Ji replied again.

"The yield per mu is just a conservative estimate. I'm afraid even the gods dare not say such big words, right?" Li Yuan chuckled when he heard this, and even doubted whether Li Xiu had lied about this matter. After all, this has far exceeded his common sense.

"Your Majesty, I think Li Xiu doesn't seem to be lying. For example, if you think about it the other way around, Li Xiu's lies will not be of any benefit at all. Instead, it will only shame his reputation and may even bring His Majesty's blame. No one will do such a thankless thing, right?" Pei Ji said for Li Xiu at this time. This was what he thought of on the way back.

"Haha, Pei Jian, don't be deceived by Li Xiu. This kid is extremely cunning and doesn't care about his reputation at all. Last time I forced him to get married, mainly because I wanted to reuse it in the future. I guess he also felt it, so he wanted to use this method to defame himself, and even deliberately make me angry, thinking that this would escape my appointment. This is not the first time he has done such a thing. For example, last time, Tang and Li Jing got into anger, I suspected that he did it on purpose." Li Yuan said with a smile at this time. He asked himself that he had seen through Li Xiu's tricks, but he didn't know that he had really wronged Li Xiu.

"This... With Li Xiu's personality, it's really possible to do such a thing." Pei Ji also showed a meditative expression when he heard this, but then he said unwillingly, "But what if this sweet potato is really done, then we missed a great opportunity to solve the problem of food shortage?"

"Hahaha~ Pei Jian, why are you confused? Even if the sweet potatoes are real, Li Xiu can only plant sweet potatoes in our Tang Dynasty. With his and Pingyang's temperament, he will definitely promote sweet potatoes in the future, so there is no need to worry about this matter. When the production of sweet potatoes comes out in the future, you will naturally find out!" Li Yuan couldn't help laughing at this time. Pei Ji was also concerned about it, otherwise he would not have asked such a stupid question.

"Uh, I made a mistake and I forgot this." Pei Ji couldn't help but slapped his forehead when he heard this. He said a little annoyed. In fact, it was not his mistake, but Li Xiu's warning to him for most of the day he had been with Li Xiu, and he had not come back to his senses until now.

It was getting late, and Li Yuan asked Pei Ji to have supper with him again, and then let him go. However, Pei Ji kept browsing urgently on the way back. When he got home, he immediately locked himself in the study and told his servants that no one would see him.

However, not long after Pei Ji entered the study, he was sitting behind the desk thinking about Li Xiu’s warning to him, and suddenly he heard someone knocking on the door outside, which made him angry and scolded: "Bastard, haven’t I said that no one can disturb him!"

"Your Majesty, Wang Zhongyun is asking for a meeting!" The servant who knocked outside and whispered to report. Although Pei Ji said that no one had seen anyone, the identity of the visitor was extraordinary, so the servant had to bite the bullet and report.

"Wang Gui is here!" Pei Ji also showed a deep expression when he heard the servant's report. The so-called Wang Zhongyun actually refers to the prince Zhongyun and Wang Gui. Speaking of which, Wang Gui is not only his friend, but also Li Jiancheng's confidant. When he had contacted Li Jiancheng before, most of them passed through Wang Gui. Now the other party is here to visit. It is very likely that Li Jiancheng sent him to inquire about his visit to Li Xiu today. After all, this matter was proposed to him by Li Jiancheng.

Wang Gui has a special identity and is his friend, so Pei Ji has to see him. He stood up and went to the living room in front. When he entered, he happened to see an old man with gray hair sitting there tasting tea. When he saw Pei Ji, the other party immediately raised the tea cup and smiled at him: "Pei Xiang, you also use this kind of fried tea here, it tastes really good!"

"Haha, I didn't expect that Brother Shujie also likes this tea. If you have time in the future, we can make friends with tea!" Pei Ji smiled when he saw the other party. The old man with gray hair, national character and correct facial features in front of him was Prince Zhongyun Wang Gui.

Speaking of Wang Gui, he had to be in advance for the Yang Wengan incident. Originally, this incident was involved with the prince, but after the incident, Li Yuan was reluctant to blame Li Jiancheng, but instead exuded his anger on Wang Gui, because Wang Gui was the prince Zhongyun and had the responsibility to teach the prince. Now that the prince had something wrong with him, his teaching was naturally not good. As a result, Li Yuan demoted Wang Gui to Chang'an in anger.

However, Wang Gui was lucky, so Li Yuan changed his mind and began to favor Li Jiancheng, and then he slowly restored Li Jiancheng's freedom and power. As a result, under this situation, Wang Gui, who had just left Chang'an for a few days, was transferred back and was restored to his post. This matter alone can be seen that Li Yuan's favoritism towards Li Jiancheng.

Although Wang Gui's influence in the court was not as good as Pei Ji, the two had a good relationship. In fact, they were old acquaintances in the former Sui Dynasty, but they didn't have a deep relationship at that time. Later, the two were both officials in the Tang Dynasty and gradually became more and more exchanges. Moreover, Wang Gui was a square person and never curry favor with Pei Ji because of his identity. This made Pei Ji respect him very much and was considered a rare close friend of his.

Wang Gui and Pei Ji exchanged a few greetings, then went straight to the point: "Pei Xiang, I wonder what the result of your visit to Li Xiu today. Did he agree to persuade Princess Pingyang?"

Although Wang Gui is a square man, he is also one of Li Jiancheng's most complacent confidants. At the same time, he has always actively helped him win over all forces. Although Princess Pingyang's wife's army is not large in number, it is extremely elite. In addition, the Women's Army has great reputation both in the army and among the people. If Princess Pingyang can openly support the prince, it can offset the military pressure on Li Shimin, let alone ask Yang Wengan to recruit private soldiers like Li Jiancheng before.

Pei Ji smiled bitterly when he heard this and shook his head, "Shujie, we all underestimated Li Xiu too much. He was unwilling to persuade the princess at all, and he made a decision for the princess directly and would not intervene in the fight between the prince and the King of Qin, so you and the prince should have this heart!"

"Li Xiu helped the princess make a decision. How could he help the princess make a decision?" Wang Gui said in confusion and a little puzzled when he heard this. Only Li Xiu's relationship with Princess Pingyang was Li Yuan and his son, Pei Ji, Ma Ye and a few others knew that even Wang Gui, the confidant around Li Jiancheng, did not know about this. However, they knew that Li Xiu had a great influence on Princess Pingyang, and even more influential than the smelly and hard Ma Sanbao, so Wang Gui took his mind to Li Xiu.

"This... Shujie, don't ask, but I can tell you that Li Xiu is indeed qualified to make decisions for the princess. In addition, according to my estimate, even if the prince personally persuades Princess Pingyang, the princess will probably not agree to stand on the prince's side, so let's forget about this matter!" Pei Ji hesitated for a moment and said again. Originally, the possibility of success in this matter was not high, and now there is no chance of it.

When Wang Gui heard Pei Ji say this, he couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. In his opinion, as long as Princess Pingyang stands on the side of the prince, almost all the problems can be solved, but unfortunately he was in vain.

"Pei Xiang, since you can't win over Princess Pingyang, you can only hope to weaken the military power in the hands of the King of Qin. Yesterday, you didn't tell the prince that you could use the method of trying to get to divert the Qin king's attention, so as to make it easier to weaken the military power in the hands of the King of Qin. Today we discussed with the prince and felt that this plan was very feasible."

When he said this, Wang Gui paused and then said: "It just happened that after the beginning of spring this year, there was too much rain in Shandong. Local officials were worried about causing floods, so it would be better to take this opportunity to hand over the inspection of the river affairs to the King of Qin. In the past, these government affairs of Qin could not get involved at all, and now they would definitely not miss this opportunity. When the King of Qin was busy with river affairs, Pei Xiang could advise His Majesty to weaken the troops in the hands of the King of Qin. Of course, it could not be done too obviously, but it could mobilize the army, rectify the military affairs, etc., and slowly weaken the King of Qin's control over the army. I wonder what Pei Xiang thought about it?"

"This..." Wang Gui originally thought of the plan, but Pei Ji was a little hesitant now, because Li Xiu's warning kept circling in his mind, which made him wonder if he should continue to follow the prince with a determined heart?

Seeing Pei Ji silent, Wang Gui was also surprised. In fact, when he saw Pei Ji just now, he felt that the other party was worried, as if something was hidden in his heart. This made him ask again: "Pei Xiang, what are you thinking? Do you think this plan is not working?" (To be continued.)

...
Chapter completed!