Chapter 611 Secret Conversation between Father and Son
Manna Hall.
During the Zhenguan period, there was no such thing as annual leave. People had two days of rest on the 30th day of the new year and the first day of the Lunar New Year. After that, they went to court every other day until normalcy returned after the Lantern Festival.
After the death of the Holy Queen, Li Er no longer paid much attention to New Year's Day and stayed alone in Ganlu Hall to read documents. When he came back from Qinjiazhuang that night, he was very excited. In less than two years, everyone in Qinjiazhuang was so poor that everyone was rich.
He owns the entire Tang Dynasty and controls countless resources. Not to mention other places, there are still people who are hungry in Chang'an right under his nose. This makes the proud and confident Li Er severely hit.
The majestic emperor is worse than the king of Han?!
The laughter in Qinjiazhuang is still vivid in my mind, like a slap on Li Er's face, so hot that it also wakes Li Er up and sees the difference.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
The sound of documents being turned was heard, and the hall became eerily quiet.
Wang De glanced at the door from time to time, his face full of worry. According to past practice, on New Year's Day, Li Er would summon four concubines and their families to have lunch together. The harem also sent people to inquire several times. Judging from this attitude, I am afraid
Can't cancel?
A chamberlain hurried over and whispered: "Godfather, the King of Han sent someone to deliver the dividends." He handed over a voucher.
The voucher was printed with the words "Qian Guan". With this piece of paper, you can go to any industry under the Han Dynasty for consumption, or you can directly exchange it for silver. It is much more convenient than carrying silver. Everyone likes it. Wang De keeps the voucher close to his body and takes a look.
There was no one around, so he asked in a low voice: "Have you ever done what you were told?"
"Don't worry, godfather. Our people have arrived in Hanzhou and entered the Hanwang's Skynet. The Hanwang has arranged our people very reasonably and given us a lot of face. There is no upper limit for the caravan's goods. How much you can earn depends on your ability.
.”
"That's good, the King of Han is benevolent. With this road, our family can die in peace."
"Godfather, you can't say that. Everyone remembers how good you are to your children, and we will wait until one day to honor you and provide for you until you die."
"As for your sweet talk, go ahead and tell the King of Han that your Majesty is checking the accounts of the Household Department with unknown intentions."
"My child has booked a table at the hot pot city tonight. I heard that I won't do it. I will take it back to the palace later and my godfather will come over for a few drinks." The other party said, bowed and hurried away.
"How can I have free time?" Wang De glanced at the Ganlu Palace and smiled bitterly. Suddenly he heard someone shouting inside to summon the King of Jin. He quickly agreed and arranged for someone to announce the decree.
Not long after, Jin Wang Li Zhi came over and entered the palace.
In the hall, Li Er pointed to the low stool next to the stove to Li Zhi who was saluting, motioned to sit down, sorted out a stack of documents, put them aside, and whispered: "Zhi'er, if I pass the throne to you, what will you do?"
Treat the King of Han?"
"I don't dare!"
Li Zhi was so frightened that he almost knelt down and said quickly: "My father is at the peak of his power in the Spring and Autumn Period, so I don't dare to think anything wrong. Without my father in the Tang Dynasty, I don't dare to imagine what would happen."
"Don't you even have the courage to think about it?" A flash of disappointment flashed in Li Er's eyes.
"I don't dare to think about it. I just hope to live forever under the protection of my father, and be an idle prince, with no worries about food and clothing, and be free and easy."
Li Er took a deep look at Li Zhi. He looked scared, but in fact his eyes were clear. It could be seen that it was not that he was afraid, but he was still pretending. Instead, he felt relieved. If he didn't even have the courage to think, he was cowardly and incompetent, he really reconsidered immediately.
He asked: "Sit down, today you and I, father and son, can talk freely without restraint."
"Thank you, Father!" Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Just tell me, don't worry."
Li Zhi suddenly realized that this was a test, not a test, and his mind became active. Moreover, he had thought about this problem for more than one day, and he already had a clue. He immediately said solemnly: "Father, I don't know whether it is right or not. If it is wrong, what else can I do?"
Please forgive me and correct me."
Li Er nodded calmly, acquiescing that he was not guilty of making a mistake.
Li Zhi got a little more courageous and continued: "My sons thought that the great talents of the Han Dynasty were rare to find in a thousand years and should be reused, but they had to be careful. Dong Zhuo in the Han Dynasty, Sima Yi in the Wei Dynasty usurped the throne, and Yang Xuangan in the Sui Dynasty, but they were not used.
I don’t know how to balance it with defense.”
"Why not Bai Qi of Qin, Wei Qing of Han, Zhuge Liang of Shu, and Zhou Yu of Soochow?"
Li Zhi couldn't guess what Li Er was really thinking, so he didn't dare to talk nonsense. He thought carefully for a while before he said cautiously: "Father, Bai Qi and Wei Qing are military generals with no talent for managing the world. Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu do have the talent for managing the world, but
He is not a military commander, but the King of Han is both civil and military. Even if he has no rebellious intentions, he still has ambitions, as evidenced by his conquest of the Western Regions. Over time, even if the King of Han does not want to, the people around him will push him to that step."
"You are very good. You deserve to be taught by your father." Li Er smiled happily.
Li Zhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This time... his bet was right. He was shocked when he heard Li Er continue to ask: "But have you thought about another question? The general trend is."
"What do you mean?" Li Zhi was a little confused.
Li Er said mockingly: "I pride myself on being an all-rounder in both civil and military affairs, and I also aspire to be a wise king. Over the years, I have worked diligently, using wise ministers and villains to open up new avenues, and accept good advice. The Tang Dynasty is changing with each passing day, prospering, and has people from all over the world.
I thought I was doing a good job, but I went to Qinjiazhuang yesterday and found out that I was just a frog in the well."
"Father, how can you belittle yourself? Who doesn't know about the Tang Dynasty..."
Li Er waved his hand to signal Li Zhi to stop, glanced at the thick documents, and said with a wry smile: "Great achievements are not whitewashed, they need real data. I just carefully checked Chang'an's tax this year, and it is less than in previous years."
More than half, do you know why this is so?"
"More than half of it is missing. Why? I am stupid, so please let me know."
"Because the rest of them went to Qinjiazhuang."
"ah--"
Li Er continued with a somewhat lonely look: "The king of Han opened barbecue bars, hot pot cities, department stores, markets and shops in the East Market. The people of Chang'an flocked to it, which made it difficult for other merchants to continue their business. A large amount of money flowed into the hands of the king of Han, and the king of Han had
The imperial edict of not paying taxes for ten years means that the king of Han will make a lot of money and the court will be left with nothing. If this continues, the taxes in Chang'an will probably be reduced next year and both the east and west cities will be closed."
"Hey...if you don't pay taxes for ten years, can that be cancelled?" Li Zhi was shocked.
“How can the imperial edict be changed?”
Li Er also wanted to cancel it, but he couldn't, otherwise the prestige of the court would be lost and the consequences would be more serious. But when he thought that the entire business in Chang'an City would be monopolized by Qin Huaidao, and there would be no taxes, he became a little uneasy and continued: "Taxes are the second best.
What is even more frightening is the vouchers issued by the King of Han. According to investigations, the people of Chang'an rushed to exchange the vouchers because buying goods with vouchers was cheaper than silver. A large amount of silver flowed into the hands of the King of Han. Once the vouchers were fully popularized and the people no longer used silver, what would the court do?
"
This question was beyond Li Zhi's understanding, and he looked blank and silent.
Li Er also didn't understand financial warfare, but he sensed something was wrong and continued: "Once the people of Chang'an City do not use money and use all vouchers, and the salaries issued by the court are also used to exchange them for vouchers, it will not take long for the court to have no silver available.
The time will come when disaster will come."
"ah……"
Li Zhi was surprised again. He had read countless sages' books, but none of them talked about these things. He didn't know what to do, so he quickly asked: "Father, is the court also using certificates?"
"no!"
Li Er solemnly said: "The voucher belongs to the King of Han. If the court also uses it, if one day the King of Han suddenly cancels the voucher and doesn't use it, wouldn't the voucher in the court's hands become a pile of waste paper? Moreover, once the voucher is used by the court, it can no longer be used against it.
The King of Han has to take action, otherwise the voucher will also become useless paper. Not only can’t he take action, but he must also stabilize the King of Han to ensure that the voucher does not become invalid. Do you know what this means?"
"It means that the imperial court is controlled by the King of Han in disguise." Li Zhi was not good at business and did not understand finance, but he was very politically sensitive and could tell the truth immediately. He reacted instantly and his face changed drastically.
If the court is manipulated, what's the point of being an emperor?
The emperor has to act based on other people's faces, otherwise he will collapse. That is too frustrating.
At this moment, Li Zhi realized how terrible the certificate was, his face kept changing, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Father, we must not be controlled and must be banned."
"How to ban it? The voucher is similar to an IOU. It is not silver or banknotes. It does not violate the Zhenguan Law. The court cannot ban it rashly."
Li Zhi said worriedly: "Then re-legislate."
"It's not possible to legislate. The voucher is just an IOU issued by the Han Palace. It's like borrowing a certain amount of silver and writing a voucher, which can be exchanged for silver in the future. How to legislate? You can't prohibit anyone from writing an IOU. Many knowledgeable people in the court wrote.
There is evidence of impeachment, but no one has come up with a solution, and that’s what’s scary.”
"No one can come up with a solution? What should we do?" Li Zhi's expression changed again, which meant that there was no solution, and he said anxiously: "It cannot be banned, but it must be solved, so there is only one way, force!"
Li Er shook his head indifferently, feeling inexplicably frightened.
Li Zhi also realized that if force could be used, his father would probably do it long ago.
The key point is that it may not be possible to win with force. The title of the King of Han was obtained by killing. If you do it, you will lose the excuse. Not to mention the disloyalty of the civil and military officials, it will also give the King of Han an excuse to rebel.
What should I do?
Li Zhi couldn't help but look at his wise and powerful father, and suddenly felt that that seat was not easy to sit in.