Miao Du and Xiang Shaolong rode side by side, walking slowly along the ancient streets of Xianyang.
The Eighteen Iron Guards opened the way in front, while Miao Du's personal guards followed behind.
Since the assassination incident happened not long ago, everyone is on high alert and dare not take it lightly.
Han Jie, Miao Si and Ling Qi followed closely behind, but they still kept a distance so that they could safely talk confidentially.
As soon as he left the brothel, the last trace of Miao Du's humiliation disappeared immediately, his face was as cold as ice, and he said nothing.
After walking for half a cup of hot tea, Miao Du stared blankly at the street in front of him illuminated by the lantern light, and said solemnly: "Lu Buwei is really bullying people too much." Xiang Shaolong habitually listened to the sound of horse hooves in the empty space.
The long street echoed, and he sighed and said: "Under the current situation, Mr. Neishi still tolerates his anger for a while, and there is no need to conflict with him head-on over a woman."
Miao Du gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Xiang, have you seen Meimei's helplessness and pain? Her heart is towards me."
Xiang Shaolong recalled the way Shan Meimei glanced at him when she left crying, and couldn't help but picture the scene of this beauty's beautiful breasts being pressed tightly under Lu Buwei's smelly body, and he was speechless.
Miao Du roared as if he was talking to himself: "I want to kill Lu Buwei"
Xiang Shaolong raised his head to look at him, and Miao Du's eyes happened to be directed at him. After the two looked at each other for a while, Xiang Shaolong said: "I don't want to say whether he can be killed, but if Lu Buwei is really dead,
, the Qin State will immediately fall into chaos, Brother Miao should think twice."
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Miao Du's mouth, and he sighed dejectedly.
Xiang Shaolong also sighed secretly in his heart.
I am really too emotional. Although I know that Miao Du is a ruthless person and I am even more uneasy towards Xiang Shaolong, but now that I see him being persecuted by Lu Buwei in many ways, I still feel sympathy for him. It seems that I am really not a political person.
.It is so easy to be soft-hearted towards enemies.
At this time, they came to a cross street, with the Ganquan Palace in the south of the city leading to the left, and Xiang Shaolong's way home ahead. Miao Du reined in his horse and stopped, and the whole team stopped.
Xiang Shaolong knew full well that Miao Du was going to Ganquan Palace to find Zhu Ji, so he could complain to her on the bed, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable.
Miao Du managed to cheer up and asked, "Brother Xiang, are you planning to kill Qiu Risheng tomorrow?"
Xiang Shaolong couldn't help but give him some face in this matter, and said with a smile: "Let Brother Miao make the decision on this matter."
Miao Du didn't expect Xiang Shaolong to be so willing to sell out, and was shocked and said: "Brother Xiang is really a good friend, I understand this. Qiu Risheng is too much. But this person is still of some use to me, brother Xiang.
He has some setbacks”
Xiang Shaolong said calmly: "Just follow Brother Miao's words."
After a pause, he took the opportunity to ask: "What is the relationship between Brother Miao and Pu Hu?"
Miao Du frowned and said after a while: "Now he is trying to curry favor with me. Seeing that there is no harm in it, I will deal with him. This person has a huge power in Zhao Jun. He has been colluding with Yangquan Jun in the past, but now he has lost it."
As for the backer, and seeing that Du Bi has done nothing, it is natural to find someone else to support him."
After saying this, Xiang Shaolong immediately knew that Pu Ou had given him a lot of benefits and did not reveal it. After the two said goodbye, they went their separate ways.
When we returned to Wu Mansion, it was already the second watch. The lights in the house were bright, and most people were surprisingly still not asleep. It turned out that Wu Guo, who had escorted Zou Yan out of the country, had returned. This person was the pistachio of the Wu family, and he was the top one.
Everyone was happy for him. At this time, he was talking about interesting things about the trip in the hall, and Ji Yanran, the girls, Zhao Da and others burst into laughter from time to time. He is the kind of person who can make things that are not funny at all
A master of conversation that makes people laugh.
Zhou Wei stayed beside him like a human being, with a happy look on her face. Among the people, she and the Tian sisters laughed the most. As long as Wu Guo showed an expression, they would have bent their waists with laughter without saying a word.
Teng Yi and Shan Lan were sitting in a corner, feeling the harmonious atmosphere in the hall. Jing Jun was on duty tonight, so he was not here.
After experiencing intrigues and intrigues outside, Xiang Shaolong suddenly felt warm in his heart when he returned to this warm world.
When Wu Guo saw him coming back, he stood up and saluted and said, "Master Xiang is back from his night patrol."
As soon as these words came out, everyone burst into laughter again.
Teng Yi stood up and said with a smile: "We'll talk tomorrow after it's late."
Wu Guo dragged Zhou Wei's delicate hand and shouted: "It's night, let's go to bed."
Zhou Wei broke away from Wu Guo's hand amidst the laughter of everyone, and sneaked to the back house with a blushing face, but Wu Guo pretended to be anxious and chased after her.
Everyone dispersed in a hurry, leaving only Ji Yanran and his daughters and Teng Yi and his wife.
Ji Yanran rolled her eyes at him and said, "I thought your husband wouldn't be back tonight."
Xiang Shaolong complained: "Good wife, do you think I want to hang out with people like Miao Du? But tonight I have a grand harvest."
As Teng Yi chased after him, Xiang Shaolong told everything that happened tonight.
Teng Yi said angrily: "Lu Buwei is really despicable, but Miao Du is not a good person either. It would be best if both of them die."
Wu Tingfang was concerned about other things, and asked: "Is Shi Sufang beautiful?"
Xiang Shaolong responded wisely: "It's pretty good, but it's not as bright as Fang'er's."
Wu Tingfang immediately smiled and stopped bothering.
Teng Yi said in a deep voice: "Will the third brother really give up the good opportunity to eradicate Qiu Risheng for Miao Du tomorrow?"
Xiang Shaolong sighed for a day and said: "If I think about it further, it is still not appropriate to remove Qiu Risheng now. It is a good thing for more people to fight against Lu Buwei."
Changing the subject, I asked about Ji Yanran's audition for the role of Black Dragon.
Ji Yanran's beautiful eyes sparkled and she said calmly: "With Yanran in charge, my husband can rest assured."
Teng Yi stood up, stretched and said, "Everyone, take a rest early and recuperate your energy. Tomorrow we will go to that shabby hotel to make a big fuss, letting people know that we are not easy to mess with."
Zhao Zhi said with a smile: "Now our Lord Xiang is used to going to Zui Feng Tower before the war starts, but this time I am afraid no one will dare to place a big bet that Lord Xiang will lose."
Amid laughter, everyone went back to their rooms.
In the morning of the next day, as the beginning of spring was approaching and the new year was approaching, the Qin court concentrated on discussing various issues related to financial expenditures.
Lu Buwei was in charge of the finances and was well prepared. He submitted a eloquent "budget" to Xiaopan a month ago.
In general, Lu Buwei increased taxes and increased treasury revenue, mainly to meet the expenses of the upcoming large-scale military operations and the construction of the Zhengguo Canal.
These days, Xiaopan, Li Si, Lord Changping and Wang Ling have been secretly discussing the financial budget from time to time. Xiang Shaolong knows nothing about this, and because he has to deal with the battle between Guan Zhongxie, he avoids the pain of participating.
After Lu Buwei explained the entire budget in detail, the civil and military officials had been standing there for two hours. Xiaopan was particularly gracious and had people bring in mats and let everyone sit down.
After Lu Buwei finished explaining, he said energetically: "The way to manage finances is to increase when you need to increase, reduce when you need to decrease, and use it appropriately. Now look for the Qin Dynasty's treasury to be full, and to accumulate grains like mountains. The people will be prosperous with Yin, the country will be prosperous, and the people will be happy.
If you use it, the princes will submit to you. You should open up more ways to make money, increase taxes, and march eastward bravely. Only by occupying more land can we, the Qin Dynasty, continue the strategy of strengthening the country and the army. In fact, since the founding of the Qin Dynasty, we have never unified the world.
A good opportunity.”
When Lu Buwei sat down, the courtiers all agreed.
Zhu Ji has never been a professional in this field, only a nodding person.
Xiang Shaolong heard that Lu Buwei believed that Qin's existence was all due to him. Of course he did not want Qin to advance eastward with all its strength, but he did not refute Lu Buwei's excuse, and was only secretly annoyed.
Fortunately, Xiaopan apparently had other ideas after discussing with Li Si and others, and never expressed his agreement.
Cai Ze, Wang Wan and others expressed their opinions one after another, praising Lu Buwei's wisdom and martial prowess and his ability to govern the country. Xiaopan said lightly: "What do you think, Prime Minister Zuo?"
Lord Changping cheered up, stood up, and moved to the center of the palace, facing Xiaopan who was sitting high on the court steps. Zhu Ji and Lu Buwei said: "Since Duke Xiao of our Qin Dynasty defeated the armies of Chu and Wei, we have moved thousands of miles.
King Huiwen conquered the land of Sanchuan, merged with Ba and Shu in the west, Mu Shangjun in the north, took Hanzhong in the south, encircled Jiuyi, and controlled Yu and Ying. King Zhaoxiang strengthened the royal family, Du privately fought, cannibalized the followers of the six countries, and made them attack Qin in the west
Now that the three eastern counties have been renewed, it is sincerely advisable to implement strategies to enrich the people and consolidate the acquired land. In addition, the construction of the Zhengguo canal requires money, and a large number of farmers have been recruited as canal workers, which has led to waste of production. Therefore, I would like to ask the prince to propose an increase in tax.
Think twice.”
Before Xiao Pan had a chance to express his opinion, Wang Wan sneered and said: "The words of the left prime minister are wrong. Our Da Qin is a country of abundance. We can attack when we advance and defend when we retreat. In the middle of Guanzhong, there are dice and letters on the left, and on the right, there is Long and Shu. The fertile fields are thousands of miles away.
Now that we have the resources of Bashu and the advantage of the old garden in the north, we can block three sides and hold on, and control the princes from the east with only one side. The army and food are fully replenished. The construction of the Zhengguo Canal is only a drop in the bucket. Only the two counties of Ba and Shu are enough to cope with it. Please give me a warning.
.”
Meng Ao said: "We, the Qin Dynasty, have fought hard to advance eastward since the election of King Zhaoxiang. Not only did we acquire large tracts of land from Zhao, Wei, Han, and Chu, but we also fought hundreds of battles, annihilating more than a million enemy soldiers, and greatly weakened the Eastern
The fighting power of all the countries. At present, the six people in the East are in dire straits, their races are scattered, and they are in chaos and want to govern. At this time when everyone is weak and we are strong, we should look for the Qin Dynasty to take advantage of the time, location, people and power. If we don’t take the opportunity to make money
Expanding the army and missing a good opportunity are not worthy of the previous kings."
Xiang Shaolong's expression changed when he saw Lord Changping, and he knew something was wrong.
Although Lord Changping was a wise man, due to his experience, he was still no match for Lu Buwei, Wang Wan and others. At a certain stage, it became difficult to continue.
Lu Buwei's new fiscal budget today is indeed a detailed plan to seize power, giving Lu Buwei greater freedom to collect taxes, add new taxes, and expand the army.
Once Xiaopan and Zhu Ji are approved, Lu Buwei will be able to do whatever he wants, benefiting himself and harming others. Generals like Huan Qi will have to look at his face and behavior.
Xiaopan may be able to control the three major military departments in Xianyang, but the armies outside Xianyang are controlled by Lu Buwei in disguise.
So this matter must be fought over.
After Changpingjun was stunned for a while, he suddenly laughed and said, "I would like to invite Mr. Li Si to report the findings of his research to the prince." He actually put Li Si on the stage.
Xiang Shaolong and Xiaopan immediately felt relieved, knowing that this was the best strategy among all the strategies.
Originally, as Li Si's chief historian, he was only Ruo Xiaopan's secretary-general, responsible for handling documents for Xiaopan, but since Lord Changping named him to express his opinions, it was difficult for others to object.
Wang Chi, Wang Ling and other military generals were naturally excellent at leading troops and fighting generals, but when it came to politics and economics, they were far from rivals of Lu Buwei, Wang Wan and others, and they were as helpless as Xiang Shaolong.
Only Li Si, a famous minister who has lived through the ages, is the most suitable candidate.
Li Si was secretly happy in his heart and walked out happily. When he arrived at the center of the palace, he replaced Lord Changping. He first followed the etiquette and then said calmly: "Unifying the world is our national policy of Qin. No one should have any objections to this matter. As long as we govern properly."
When sailing a boat in an angry sea, if you are not careful, the boat will capsize and people will be killed, if not, the people will be in trouble. Therefore, you must not act too hastily. You must understand the people's sentiments and govern according to the situation."
Cai Ze obviously didn't look down on Li Si at all, and said with a bit of disdain: "Under the instructions of Father Zhong, I have been inspecting all the counties in Daqin to determine taxes according to local conditions. I will never be negligent in doing so. Sir Chang Shi is really overly concerned."
Lu Buwei stroked his beard and said with a smile: "If Master Changshi had the opportunity to experience the political situation in person, he would understand that the suggestions that my father-in-law submitted to the crown prince this time are actually the result of countless efforts and hard work. The prosperity of our great Qin Dynasty lies in
Among them. Please give the Crown Prince the Empress Dowager’s approval so that we can implement it immediately.”
All the ministers agreed.
Lord Changping and others frowned.
Only Xiang Shaolong was confident and knew that Li Si would have a way to fight back.
Sure enough, Li Si smiled calmly and said: "The so-called understanding of people's sentiments must be supported by solid evidence to be convincing. If Zhongfu's proposal is followed, among the counties, Ba and Shu will have the most severe tax increases. This is absolutely unacceptable.
OK."
Lu Buwei didn't expect that Li Si would dare to openly contradict his old boss, and his expression turned unhappy and said: "The rich will increase it, and the poor will decrease it. This is the golden rule of taxation. Bashu is the land of heaven. I, the Qin Dynasty, have the poor and the rich, and use them all.
.Why did the long history say this?”
Li Si was not at all intimidated by his harsh words, and took the time to argue arrogantly: "Bashu is not only the foundation of our Qin Dynasty, but also an important battle ground. Its soldiers can reach Chuying in five days from the Minjiang River.
In order to consolidate Bashu, which is a must-win area for unifying the southwest and conquering Chu, we must implement policies according to the situation and adopt favorable policies. But the ministers failed to see this in Zhongfu's suggestion."
After a pause, he said confidently: "You must know that although Bashu is rich in resources, it is vast and sparsely populated, and the people's intelligence is low. Many places are still in the primitive stage of slash-and-burn cultivation. If the endowment is suddenly increased, I am afraid that once it exceeds its affordability, it will
Because addition can subtract. Secondly, there are many indigenous races in Bashu, and they are brave and good at fighting. If a civil uprising is provoked, even if it can be quelled, it will greatly damage the vitality and deepen the hatred. Therefore, it is better to reduce or reduce taxes and rents to make people's hearts go.
The basis of my proposal is that the warlike nature of Bashu is more important than economic considerations. I ask the prince, the queen mother and Zhongfu to take a clear look at it."
Xiaopanlong's eyes immediately lit up, and he said enthusiastically: "What Li Qing said makes sense. Giving wealth to the people first, and then taking wealth from the people is the right way. Winning the world doesn't care about the length of one or two years. What's more?
The left minister said that Zheng Guoqu's expenditure is by no means a drop in the bucket. If the resources of Ba and Shu are used up, it will trigger a civil uprising, and then I will really be unworthy of the late king."
Xiang Shaolong secretly exclaimed.
The most powerful thing about Li Si was that he criticized Lu Buwei from a strategic perspective and concentrated his ammunition on only one point. However, it made people feel that the entire proposal was full of loopholes because he failed to truly understand the sentiments of the people.
Xiaopan is more worthy of being the future ruler of the world. He followed the stick when he hit the snake, and took the opportunity to use Zheng Guoqu to deny Lu Buwei's tax increase policy. When he said this, except for Lu Buwei and a few other people, no one dared to resist the objection.
When Lu Buwei still had no chance to speak, Li Si continued: "Now that we have obtained the three eastern counties for the first time, it is just a tax reduction, which is not enough to calm the people. It is best to reduce the punishment according to the opinions of the ministers. I, Da Qin, are not worried about going without punishment, but
The punishment for the disease is severe. Anyone who steals a piece of money will be severely punished. Anyone who knows and fails to report is guilty of the same crime. If the crime is punished, the punishment will be severe. Why should the punishment be harsh? For Ba, Shu and other places where there are many barbarians or new counties and new people, harsh punishment will only lead to the destruction of the people.
Changes will be greatly detrimental to our Qin's unification of the world."
These words were beyond the scope of Lu Buwei's suggestions, but on the premise of unifying the world, they did not deviate from the track at all, showing that Li Si's foresight was beyond the reach of Lu Dang.
When Lu Buwei's eyes flashed fiercely and he was at a loss, Li Sikan continued: "The strategies for enriching a country are ever-changing, but they never deviate from their origins, and they can be used to their advantage. Like Ba, the land of Shu is vast and sparsely populated.
There is a shortage of talents, but if we can immigrate and enrich the people in Bashu, stimulate industry and commerce, and consolidate our homeland, there is hope for the revitalization of the two places. I, the Qin Dynasty, will be able to benefit from it, and then we will be able to use it to unite the world."
Xiaopan was overjoyed when he heard this and exclaimed: "Li Qing's words are absolutely correct. What else can you say?"
Lu Buwei and the others were caught off guard and looked at each other in confusion. When they had no words to reply, to everyone's surprise, Miao Du left his seat, knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "Master Li is a wise man, comparable to Shang Yang, but even worse. Wei Wei.
I boldly ask the Crown Prince to give Li Qing permission in an unusual way. According to Zhongfu’s proposal, I will re-define the strategy of arranging wealth. I would like to ask the Crown Prince to give you a clear warning."
As soon as these words came out, the whole palace was in an uproar.
Only Xiang Shaolong understood that Miao Du's help was really to avenge Lu Buwei's three arrows last night.
Lu Buwei's eyes were piercing with lightning, and he stared at Miao Du fiercely, wishing he could swallow him alive.
Only then did Wang Wan and others realize the clever methods of Li Si, who had always kept a low profile.
Since entering the Qin Dynasty, Li Si has been proud and proud at this moment, showing his brilliance and establishing an unshakable political position in the future.
Xiaopanna still didn't know what was going on and hurriedly asked Zhu Ji for instructions.
Although Zhu Ji felt that it was inappropriate to clearly reduce Lu Buwei's power, she could not but support Miao Du and nodded: "Your Majesty, it will be settled."
Xiaopan was very happy and said happily: "Li Qing immediately started working on this matter. After completion, he must submit two copies to the widow and Father Zhong respectively. After the widow and Father Zhong discuss it, they will discuss it in court."
Xiang Shaolong secretly praised in his heart that although Xiaopan clearly reduced Lu Buwei's power, he gave Lu Buwei a chance to step down and saved a little face.
At this time, everyone's eyes were focused on Lu Buwei to see if he would accept it.
Lu Buwei was obviously at a loss for words. No matter how difficult it was to find something to refute Li Si, he was still an old fox and could still laugh and said: "Master Chang Shi has indeed lived up to my father's expectations. He has made great contributions to our Qin Dynasty. He deserves to be rewarded. No."
If you come to my father-in-law, you will be responsible for the tax and service, so that the long history can fulfill his ambitions."
Xiaopan smiled slightly and said: "What Father Zhong said is true, but I already have a position that is more suitable for Li Qing in my mind. There will be an announcement during the Spring Festival."
Then he said loudly: "That's it for today. Leave other matters to be reported tomorrow and leave the court."
When Xiang Shaolong woke up, he realized that it was already past the noon time he had agreed with Qiu Risheng.
This court meeting was surprisingly exciting and lengthy, lasting five hours, or ten hours.