Xu Jingzong finally realized that he could not survive alone in the circle of nobles, so he began to look for friends for himself. Xue Zihuai was a good opportunity. As long as he took Xue Zihuai into his disciples, the two brothers Xue Wanche and Xue Wanren
will become his ally. As for Princess Danyang, Xu Jingzong never thought that a violent, arrogant, extravagant and lewd woman would become his obstacle.
Anyone with a bit of vision has already seen that the great era has arrived. This is the best era, and it is also the worst era. Those who can adapt to the tide of history will be like a fish in water. Those who cannot keep pace with the times will be in this era.
People will feel out of place in the face of the new era, and the old ideas are in a final struggle with the new trends of thought. Yun Ye believes that the fangs of the new era have appeared and have bitten on the throat of the old man "the past".
Li Er and Chang Sun still wandered around the streets and alleys of Yuezhou, and sometimes appeared in the farmland in the suburbs. They no longer concealed their identities, but purposefully inspected the new city accompanied by Han Cheng and Qian Sheng.
A small temple has appeared in the place where Yun Ye threw the rice seedlings carelessly. The inscription is still there, and the sarcastic tone of it has not changed. It just added a sentence at the end: "At the end of the year, the yield of the fields here is 10%.
"
There is a statue of Yun Ye in the temple, and I don't know who carved it. It actually depicts Yun Ye's exhausted appearance, holding a bunch of rice stalks and throwing them into the field.
"The common people who can make trouble automatically made a statue of him. I really have nothing to say." Li Er entered the temple, patted the head of the statue with his hand and was filled with emotion. Is this guy's magic a result of luck or a hidden secret?
God.
"I don't know, my dear, it was inappropriate for Marquis Yun, a man in golden crown and brocade uniform, to cultivate the land. However, it was already rare for him, a young nobleman, to have the mind to cultivate the land. Who would have thought that his method of farming was to carry rice seedlings everywhere.
Throwing around, you haven't seen it. The seedlings in other fields are all neat and tidy, but the field planted by Yun Hou is in a mess.
Wei Chen thought that he was just messing around with such a big thing as farming. He was so angry that he resigned and planned to go back to the countryside to teach. Wei Chen never expected that the neat fields and seedlings that others had worked hard to plant would be
The growth was not as good as what he had thrown away, so Wei Chen withdrew his resignation and planned to take another look at the autumn harvest. As you can see, Wei Chen had to lick his lips and carved the last few words on the stone tablet.
word."
The eldest grandson was not surprised by Yun Ye's magic. He looked at the rice fields in the fields that were about to be harvested and asked: "I see that the seedlings in the fields are still neat. Since Yun Ye can get 10% more grain by just throwing them away, why don't the people learn from it?"
Doing it?"
Qian Sheng smiled bitterly and said: "My dear, the common people depend on the harvest in the fields for their survival all year round. Who dares to do anything with the seedlings in the field? Throwing the seedlings randomly has been unheard of since ancient times. If Yunhou can succeed, the people think this
It is my blessed ancestors who are blessing me. I am not as lucky as I am, so I can still farm according to the methods of my ancestors."
The eldest grandson sighed and looked at Li Er, and continued to move forward. Li Er looked at the green mountains and asked Han Cheng: "This place is surrounded by mountains on three sides. One side is close to water, and there are dense swamps and mosquitoes. Why are there so few wild animals?"
?I used to hear that dragons roamed wildly in Yunmeng Ze, and tigers and leopards swarmed on the mountains. Now that our monarchs and ministers have been here for a day, why can’t we even see small animals like foxes? "
Han Cheng bowed and replied: "In reply to Your Majesty, I am just sighing that there are too few dragons and the traces of tigers and leopards are hard to find."
"Oh? Why is this? Dragons, tigers and leopards are both pests. Why do you sigh like this?" Li Er knew there must be a reason. He did not draw conclusions easily. Instead, he asked about his background. What happened in the past few days made him worried.
There are many things about Yuezhou that are different from other state capitals. One of them is that the gate of Yuezhou City is never closed. As long as it is late at night, there will be an endless stream of cars and horses driving into Yuezhou City. I only found out after asking.
Yuezhou City did not allow merchants to purchase goods during the day, and could only transport goods into Yuezhou in the middle of the night when the market was empty. The reason was that the governor believed that the pigs and sheep passing through the market were unsightly.
"Your Majesty, although dragons, tigers and leopards are pests, they are also full of treasures. After the dragon skin is tanned, it becomes the best leather. It can be used to make boots that will last for many years. Did you know that the best tanned leather is
The craftsman can peel a dragon skin into four layers. Even so, Marquis Yun is still not satisfied and thinks that peeling it into ten pieces is considered qualified. After peeling off the crocodile skin, it is as soft as silk and as tough as linen. It is used to make various boxes and cages.
The best choice, you see, the bags carried by the female officials are produced by the Yun family shop, and they are ridiculously expensive. With the salary of Wei Chen, he cannot buy a few bags like this in a year.
Dragon meat is even more in demand now. Doctors believe that dragon meat can replenish qi and blood, relieve asthma and relieve coughs, so wealthy families keep dragon meat jerky in case of need. As for tiger and leopard meat, the same goes for the leather made by skilled craftsmen from Chang'an.
Qiu has now sold a lot of food, and 20% of Yuezhou City's industry relies on these dragons and tigers and leopards.
Nowadays, not only the big dragons are not seen in Yuezhou City, but also the small ones are missing. Tigers and leopards can only be seen when they go deep into the mountains. Because of this, the prices of cages and furs made in Yuezhou are much higher.
Wei Chen was very worried that the end of these scourges would have an impact on Yuezhou. Unexpectedly, the Yun family actually attracted small dragons from Poyang Lake and raised them in captivity. It is estimated that raising tigers and leopards was also part of the Yun family's plan. "
Li Er called an accompanying female officer and asked her to bring over his backpack. Li Er tore it open a few times and took a look. The female officer's pretty face immediately turned crimson. Inside were some women's personal belongings. Li Er
Regardless, he turned it over and lay it on the altar table in front of the Yun Ye statue. He looked at the copper crocodile logo surrounded by clouds on the backpack and studied it carefully.
"There are many such bags. Whenever the Yun family has new goods, they will send some to the palace. But I don't know their value. How expensive can a bag be? Huannu, how much did you spend on this bag?
Money?" The eldest grandson stepped forward to take the bag and asked his female officer nonchalantly.
"Returning to your Majesty, this slave has been saving for two years and bought it yesterday at the Yun family's old shop for twelve silver coins." The female official lowered her head and did not dare to look at her eldest grandson. My Majesty has always advocated frugality.
Not used to this kind of behavior.
"Twelve silver coins?" Changsun screamed, and slapped the female officer on the head with a slap: "The Yun family has always asked for things with a bad heart. How can you buy this thing for fifty shi of grain?"
Seeing that the eldest grandson was angry, Huannu quickly knelt down to apologize. The other female officials placed their bags in front of the eldest grandson and knelt down to apologize. Actually, each of them had one.
Han Cheng held up his hands to plead for these female officials: "Mom, please calm down. Weichen has a wife, a concubine, and three daughters at home. There are as many as ten bags like this. Bags are their biggest concern after jewelry.
They came to Yuezhou from Chang'an with their empress, and it would be weird if they didn't buy some bags."
"You mean it's normal for women to buy this thing?" Changsun asked Han Cheng in disbelief. After all, this thing is too expensive and ordinary people can't afford it.
"Indeed, some of Weichen's old friends are in Chuzhou, and they have sent letters from Chengzhou City asking me to buy a few new-style bags for them. It's embarrassing to say that Weichen's salary is all on this." Qian Sheng was also there.
chime in.
"Bastards, they are all bastards. Where have their thoughts gone? A suitcase is worth fifty dan of grain. I am going to ask Yun Ye, this bastard, why he is plundering people's wealth like this!"
But Li Er laughed and pressed the eldest grandson's pointing hand and said: "I think it is right to set the price higher. Those who can afford these bags are not poor people. At least they need to have enough food and clothing. This
Things can fundamentally divide a woman into two classes from the women of ordinary people. Twelve silver coins are not much. Qian Sheng, what did Yun Ye say?"
Qian Sheng said helplessly: "Wei Chen asked the Yun family at first, and they said that what they sell is not a leather bag. Their family only sells a noble life. This leather bag is just a symbol that the owner is living a wealthy life."
Li Er chuckled and said, "I remembered that Yun Ye had petitioned for an increase in luxury tax before. I didn't think so at the time. Now it seems that Yun Ye is giving me a wake-up call. It doesn't matter, I can buy a leather bag with fifty shi of grain."
You are indeed making too much money. Come and prepare a decree. The province of Mingshu will draw up a list of luxury goods and increase their tax rate three times..."
After Li Er announced his decree, he asked the female officials to get up and was not prepared to scold them. He could inadvertently discover a loophole and quickly fill it up. This can not but be said to be a victory.
The news that the emperor was planning to impose a luxury tax immediately made Lao Zhou, the big shopkeeper of the Yun family's old store, feel his heart drop. He was worried about how much money he was making. Now that it's better, the court has begun to impose heavy taxes.
This is a great thing. The Yun family has always put safety first when doing business, and it must be reasonable and legal. The introduction of the luxury tax made the early worries disappear immediately.
I made a cup of hot tea and found the most comfortable chair to sit down. This year, the wooden plaque of the master's house should fall into my hands. A heavy tax will be levied? How much is it? I have to ask, I didn't hear it clearly just now.
"Fushou, Fushou, tell me, did His Majesty's decree say what the luxury tax rate will be?" Lao Zhou put down his tea bowl and asked the clerk who just reported the news.
"His Majesty, the shopkeeper, has set the luxury tax three times higher than the current rate.
"The guy replied quickly.
"What?" Lao Zhou suddenly jumped up from his chair, bringing down the tea bowl with his sleeves. He anxiously said to the waiter: "Hurry up and tell Mr. Marquis, His Majesty is slapping his head again, three times, how can it be?"
Three times, your Majesty, does he know what he is doing? If this passes the three provinces, our family will be scolded to death."