Playing with his concubine's breasts, Li Ye's thoughts were wandering, thinking about the recent policies of the imperial court and the changes in the situation in Guanzhong. He was not as unreliable as he appeared on the outside, but he just maintained some of the things he had grown up in Tokyo. formed habit.
Li Ye had always had great ambitions for fame and was also smart. He wanted to become a minister who would serve the emperor and leave a name in history. However, he was arrogant and could not match his ambition. He was doted on by the Queen Mother when he was in Tokyo.
Until he violated the emperor's taboo, he was expelled from the capital and sent to Yuanzhou as the governor. At the beginning, Liu Chengyou was still worried whether he would bring another disaster to the local area. For example, in the early days, Liu Xin, including Murong Yanchao, They are all local problems.
But judging from the subsequent development, the remote capital managed tens of thousands of people in a state without any constraints or scruples. He governed and controlled the people completely according to his will, and the results were good. At least, under the rule of Yuanzhou, the population was Growth, acres of land are increasing, taxes are increasing.
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"It's been two years!" After the last pair of warriors competed, Li Ye lost interest. He hugged his concubine and walked to the inner garden, saying: "In a flash, we are here on the border. I’ve been here for so long!”
Li Ye was demoted due to the Puzhou case in the spring of the fourth year of Emperor Qianyou's reign. Although it has not been full two years now, it is not much different. Two years is enough for a person's ability and knowledge to greatly improve, and for Li Ye Generally speaking, the greatest progress can be made through tempering one's mind. Although arrogance is inevitable, the city is much deeper, at least not as domineering and flamboyant as it was in Tokyo.
"Are you tired of staying here?" Li Ye asked while hugging his concubine and holding her smooth chin.
The concubine had a tender and touching expression on her face, and timidly responded: "The Lord is here, and I can serve you, how can I get tired of it?"
Li Ye smiled when he heard this, pointed his finger on the seductive red lips, and said: "You are quite good at talking with this little mouth! This bitter cold state, a barren land, is not enough to miss, I am tired of it! However, Don’t worry, if you endure it for a while longer, it’s time to change places! Next time, I have to ask the emperor for a more comfortable place..."
In the past two years, Li Ye was in Yuanzhou. In addition to scolding Fang Qiu, he was also reflecting on it. Being in a remote place, he had been paying attention to and understanding the situation and policies of the imperial court.
Of course, his deepest feeling was that he understood the emperor's intention of demoting him to Yuanzhou. Punishment was one, training was the second, and the third was to mix the sand and divide Yuan Zhangyi's army into military governors. Shi Kuangyi's regime came.
Li Ye also fully realized it after Shi Kuangyi was ordered to go to Beijing last year and stayed in Beijing to recuperate. Li Ye was somewhat impressed by the emperor's nephew, and according to his estimation, it was almost time for him to be transferred.
Full, warm and thoughtful, he went straight into the inner room and had a lot of fun. When he was satisfied, Li Ye just showed a calm expression of great enlightenment and went to the study to summon the manager of the mansion.
"How is our private salt business?" Li Ye asked directly as soon as he sat down.
"The latest batch of twenty stones has been sent out. This time we can make at least a thousand dollars in profit!" the manager replied with a smile.
Although Yuanzhou is a border area, it is indeed a place of prosperity. During the two years that Li Ye took office, he could not help but use his position to earn some extra money. After all, he had so many people in his house, and his daily expenses were not small.
, the female family members in the back house are dressed in gold and silver, and the central government has many rewards. Even if his salary and official salary are doubled, it will not be enough to support him.
He had no long-term plans in Yuanzhou, so he did not enclose land for farming like ordinary people, and the money came slowly. With Li Ye's shrewdness, he investigated the situation in Yuanzhou and learned about the surrounding Dangxiang, Uighurs, Tuguhun and other miscellaneous people.
After understanding this, he ordered his confidants to start a merchant business secretly.
Moreover, he did not engage in ordinary silk, porcelain, or grain business. Instead, he did whatever the imperial court banned, making huge profits. In addition to ironware, he was also involved in salt, iron, and tea.
For about more than a year, through these huge transactions of goods, I exchanged a large amount of gold, silver, cattle and horses from the Hulu, and made a lot of money.
"He was caught at the Kaiyuan Checkpoint, did you know!" Li Ye suddenly became furious and stared at the manager: "Idiot! Do you need to transport twenty stones at a time? Do you think the target is not big enough? Isn't this for someone to investigate?
Do you think you can have nothing to worry about? What if you don’t lose control within Yuanzhou and leave Yuanzhou?”
"Don't you know how much effort I have to put in to smooth out my account with just twenty rock salts? You idiot!"
Hearing the rebuke, the steward suddenly showed fear, his legs softened, and he knelt on the ground: "It was a little careless, please calm down! I will send someone to deal with it right now!"
"How to deal with it? How to deal with it? Use the official document of my governor's office to rescue him?" Li Ye glanced at it and said sarcastically.
"How dare you! The private salt trade has nothing to do with the governor's office, let alone the prince." The manager shook his head and replied, then a ruthless look flashed across his face and said, "I sent someone to deal with those smuggling criminals.
!”
Hearing what he said, Li Ye frowned even deeper, and said a little disappointedly: "You have been following me for some years, and you are usually very prudent. How come you make stupid suggestions when things are urgent?"
Without waiting for him to speak, Li Ye said directly: "We have arrived in Jing. Since it is smuggling, I will judge the punishment according to the national law! The key is, how can ordinary smuggling criminals gather such a large amount of salt? The source of this batch of salt
, if you can’t figure it out and justify it, it’s an obvious flaw, waiting for people to doubt it!”
"What should we do according to the wishes of the Duke?" The manager finally became smarter and stopped making bad ideas casually. He asked Li Ye directly for instructions.
Li Ye obviously had some calculations. There was a hint of treachery in his eyes, but his tone was calm and he said: "I have always suspected that someone is guarding and stealing. The officials of Yanlin can investigate and collect evidence. This time, I want to borrow
Use the machine to dig out the moths in Yuanzhou and severely crack down on the smuggling lawbreakers!"
Li Ye's righteous words made the manager stunned for a moment. If he didn't know the truth, he would definitely be deceived by this appearance. After thinking about it for a while, he understood that Li Ye was planning to find a scapegoat to make up for his mistakes. He immediately handed it over.
Said: "I understand, little one, go and do it immediately!"
"In order to avoid leaking the information, just alert the enemy and conduct a secret investigation!" Li Ye did not forget his advice.
"yes!"
"In addition!" Li Ye raised his finger, hesitated for a moment, and ordered: "From today on, all the smuggling transactions in hand can be thrown away. Throw them away completely, and there will be no more involvement!"
Upon hearing this, the manager couldn't help but be stunned. He looked at Li Ye with a puzzled face and said, "Why is this? That's a good way to make money! Throw everything away and make money for the government. How can we guarantee it?"
"Isn't it true that the profits I have made over the past year cannot meet the expenses of the government?" Li Ye said, "There is nothing to be reluctant to part with!"
"But -" The manager's face was full of regret, but he still wanted to persuade.
Li Ye interrupted him rudely: "Do you think I really care about this money?"
"I'm willing to give up, but you can't give up?" Li Ye's questioning voice was ups and downs.
Facing Li Ye's cold gaze, the manager trembled and quickly responded: "Yes! If you obey, you can go and do it!"
After he left, Li Ye's expression slowly returned to calmness. He sat behind the desk and thought calmly and seriously about how to end the situation. In the final analysis, he engaged in smuggling just to ensure the government's expenses and satisfy his wealthy life.
When he senses danger and discovers something is wrong underneath, he makes the right choice without hesitation and washes his hands. However, it takes some brain cells to calmly stop.
Thinking of the reaction of the manager of the mansion just now, Li Ye couldn't help but reveal a sarcastic smile and murmured: "Don't you think you can hide it from me?"
After thinking for a while, he pinched his short beard, raised his head and called out: "Here comes someone!"
"Here you are, little one!" A servant was waiting for orders in front of the door.
"Go and find Coach Sun for me!" Li Ye ordered.
Coach Sun was born in the Forbidden Army. During the process of reorganizing the army, he was retired because of his old age. He was only in his early forties. He was still brave but not very smart. He was raised by Li Ye in the mansion. Although he worked as a guard and guard in the courtyard and a martial arts training partner.
Although he was working hard, he also felt prestigious, at least he was more relaxed than in the army. On weekdays, he also helped Li Ye with some private activities.