Liang Xiao solemnly responded: "I only hope that your majesty can appreciate my loyalty. After the mountains and rivers are unified and the world is at peace, your majesty will allow me to retire and retire to the countryside after my achievements."
"Go back to the countryside? No, how can you go back to the countryside..." Duan Yunxiu blurted out in desperation.
The empress was also curious and said: "You are a highly respected minister with a name that will go down in history. How many people have dreamed of it since ancient times? You have such a great talent, and I have the intention to let you realize your ambition, so why bother to retreat to the countryside?"
Seeing that Liang Xiao hesitated to speak, the empress added: "I have said that you are allowed to speak freely, even if you scold me a few words, it doesn't matter..."
Liang Xiao explained: "It has never been Chen's dream to be a highly respected minister and hold great power. I hope to travel all over the country and see all the great rivers and mountains in the future."
The empress was silent for a moment, looked at Liang Xiao, and said: "You can't hide it from me. In fact, what you are most worried about is that the birds will be hidden and the rabbits will die and the dogs will be cooked!"
Liang Xiao smiled and said nothing.
In fact, he didn't know the empress at all. Providing these strategies for governing the country meant that she would firmly control the entire country, including the power of life and death.
Let him conquer the empress and marry her?
This idea is very unrealistic.
In the Zhou Dynasty, there were more women than men. Even poor families and common people might have concubines. Monogamy would be regarded as an alien by society.
Even if he doesn't marry three wives and four concubines, he must have an heir named Liang. Once he becomes the husband of the empress, this will become a problem.
Duan Yunxiu said anxiously: "My sister will not do such a thing! Because of you, you..."
Halfway through, Duan Yunxiu hesitated and did not dare to speak anymore.
She suddenly realized that she had already acquiesced to her sister's proposal.
Let Liang Xiao become the Prince Consort of the Great Zhou Dynasty...
"What am I?" Liang Xiao became more and more surprised and looked at Duan Yunxiu.
The empress hesitated for a moment, then took out a prepared letter from her sleeve and handed it to Liang Xiao.
"Because you are the last bloodline of the Liang family, the late emperor and I owe you the Liang family..."
Liang Xiao took a look at the family letter and his pupils shrank: "Is this my father's handwriting?"
He recognized his father's handwriting because the old man kept a lot of his father's letters and official documents.
This family letter started with "Liang Xiao my son", but the content made him have mixed feelings.
Back then, it was really his father who asked the late emperor to take the blame for the defeat and save other soldiers, including the Marquis of Dingguo.
The family letter also told him that if his heir is born smoothly in the future, whether he is a boy or a girl, he will receive compensation from the royal family in the future. I hope he can understand the emperor's difficulties.
"What a foolish and loyal person!" Liang Xiao said to himself in his heart, dumbfounded.
But Liang Xiao thought about it and felt relieved.
Maybe this is the charm of the ancients?
Once his father died, the only one left in the Liang family was his pregnant mother.
His mother was also severely traumatized physically and mentally because her husband died in the country. She passed away not long after giving birth to herself. Even if the Liang family had not been ransacked, she would still be entrusted to the old man.
The best result was that he received a pension from the imperial court, and the Liang Mansion had little money to begin with, so they only confiscated some furniture and drove away dozens of servants.
The appearance of Duan Yunxiu solved the pension issue, and he still took such good care of himself.
Looking at it this way, it seems that the royal family really has nothing to apologize for, right?
After thinking about it, Liang Xiao said with a serious face: "Here is the family letter. I must be loyal and wise, and serve my emperor as hard as I can!"
The empress secretly breathed a sigh of relief, with a look of relief on her face. She looked at the family letter from Father Liang Xiao, and her originally fair and delicate face turned a bit of an intoxicating blush.
Today she finally understood that the royal family indeed owed him a lot...
This made her even more determined to give her sister to this guy.
Zhuge Hui had already read this family letter, so he was not surprised at all. He was just amazed by the content of "movable type printing".
"If movable type printing can be promoted, the efficiency of popular education in the country will be increased several times or even dozens of times in the future, and the cost will be greatly reduced. More and more people will be able to study, and naturally they will have more opportunities to participate in the imperial examination. Ultimately, Your Majesty,
It will be easier to use the imperial examination to truly break the monopoly of aristocratic families."
The empress nodded slightly, and her eyes fell on Liang Xiao's last document again, with an anxious look on her face.
"Liang Qing's family, do you still have one in your hand? Show it to me quickly!"
Hearing his sister's slightly coquettish tone, Duan Yunxiu looked at her in surprise, with a look of disbelief on his face.
In the past, my sister seemed to have only acted coquettishly with her father, queen and mother?
Liang Xiao immediately handed the document to the empress.
"The last one is a comprehensive strategy to govern the country and strengthen the army, including reforming the military system, improving steel technology, etc. If steel production can be increased and armament costs can be reduced, the military's combat effectiveness can be further improved. Without a strong military,
All the previous national policies, no matter how good they are, can only be manipulated by others. If my neighbor collects grain, I will collect guns, and my neighbor is my granary."
The "gun" Liang Xiao calls is, of course, not a spear, but there are cold weapons like spears, so there is nothing wrong with putting it here.
Liang Xiao's last words made both Duan Yunxiu and Zhuge Hui laugh.
Even the empress smiled half-heartedly and nodded: "You are right, we Dazhou must not become someone else's granary."
Looking at this thickest document, the two sisters' expressions gradually became solemn, sometimes nodding, sometimes sighing.
After Zhuge Hui was ordered to borrow the book, he also looked solemn and praised him profusely: "He is really a pillar of the country, and I also feel that I have benefited a lot! Even if he is not suitable for officialdom for the time being, Your Majesty can start using him in business."
The empress understood, stared at Liang Xiao, and said word by word: "I will keep these six strategies for governing the country in my heart, and I will tell the world one day to let the world know about your achievements, Liang Xiao. But this is a matter for the future, I am now
I hope I can give you some satisfactory returns. I have decided to grant you royal merchant privileges and allow you to conduct all commercial activities, including the salt and iron business."
"Salt and iron?" Liang Xiao was a little surprised.
"Not bad." The empress nodded.
Liang Xiao smiled and said: "There is no need for salt and iron. I originally only wanted to seek the privileges of brewing wine and buying and selling grain and land. I didn't expect that your majesty would be so generous."
"I believe you have a sense of propriety." The empress said, and then suggested, "Liang Qing's family, I intend to host a banquet for you and the prime minister."
Liang Xiao immediately thanked the Lord for his kindness and accepted the imperial edict.
The empress left the others to chat with Liang Xiao while she went to bathe and change clothes first.
Duan Yunxiu watched Liang Xiao and Zhuge Hui chatting away from the side, his eyes moved, and his heart secretly ached.
She disliked snobbish women, so she never made friends with Nangong Ning through Mu Qinxue.
It is even more impossible for Nangong Ning to be the same as him!
"Paradise?"
Suddenly realizing that he had already thought about marrying Mu Qinxue, Duan Yunxiu quickly covered his hot face with both hands, looking at Liang Xiao who was chatting and laughing with Zhuge Hui like a frightened deer.