The big case of Fuyuntang has come to an end, and the King of Qin is both happy and sad. King Zhao has nothing to do and is planning to spend the New Year in Chang'an, so he goes to the Prince of Qin's palace to chat with the King of Qin. The King of Qin is a young man, although he is troubled by state affairs day and night, after all,
Unable to resist the temptation of the interesting stories, I put down all the excerpts on the case and listened to what he had to say. Mr. Cui was standing by to read the excerpts for him.
Just when he was about to get excited, an eunuch reported that Ding Mei, the new commander of the inner guard, asked to see him, saying that he had something important to do. King Qin looked at King Zhao helplessly. King Zhao muttered: "It's disappointing." He got up and ran away. King Qin then ordered Ding to
Eyebrows come in.
It turned out that Ding Mei had pried open Le Lan's mouth, and it was not him but the official Bi who was having an affair with Empress Cao. Bi was a secret agent from the Shu Kingdom and paid Le Lan heavy bribes to win him over. After reading the confession, King Qin was stunned.
For a long time, I looked at Mr. Cui with some panic and helplessness.
Mr. Cui thought: "My lord, go see Mr. Le and ask him what he thinks. The Qin State Committee really has nothing to do with Le Lan. Mr. Le Lan is really loyal to Qin. Shu can give Le Lan
Your Majesty's Qin State can give it to you."
King Qin clenched his fists and said, "I'm afraid I can't ask these questions calmly."
Mr. Cui said: "Then I will ask him. It will be fine if the prince is here to listen." After thinking for a long time, King Qin nodded.
Ding Mei then accompanied Mr. Cui to visit Le Lan in prison. King Qin put on eunuch's clothes and mingled behind them.
When he came to the outside of the cell and looked inside, he saw that it was dark and cold, and Le Lan was sitting alone on the old mattress in a daze. Mr. Cui asked Ding Mei and his entourage to wait outside, bowed and walked in and called out "Master Le."
Mr. Cui sat directly opposite him. After a long time, Le Lan said: "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. What is Mr. Cui doing here?"
Mr. Cui thought for a moment and said: "There is something that Cui has been unable to understand for many years, and I would like to seek clarification from Mr. Le. I beg you to speak the truth to Mr. Cui."
Le Lan finally glanced at him and said calmly: "Mr. Cui, please speak."
Mr. Cui thought for a long time before he said: "Cui is from Hai'an, Jiangsu Province. He came to Chang'an to visit his relatives and accidentally became the prince's tutor. At that time, he was still the middle man of the Gao family, and he only said that he was a tutor.
A young master from a wealthy family. I thought, he is just a six or seven-year-old child, so he must be worry-free. I don’t want to..." He smiled bitterly, "Baba has broken his heart for two or three lifetimes."
Le Lan was silent for a long time. "Really?"
"Yes." Mr. Cui said, "I have no foundation in the Qin State. My uncle - I believe you all know it. He is an honest and responsible local rich man who has nothing but money. Therefore, Cui knows very well
Who am I and what do I do? In the early years, apart from teaching the prince to study, I had no involvement in the affairs of the Qin state. Cui didn't understand why Mr. Le didn't like Cui." Outside, King Qin thought: Could it be this surname?
Did Lede ever find trouble with Mr. Cui? The lonely king didn't know anything about it. Mr. Cui was secretly afraid that he would suffer a lot, but he never mentioned a word about it.
Then he heard Le Lan sneer and say: "Master Cui, you are not involved in government affairs?"
Mr. Cui said sternly: "I did get involved later, wasn't it forced by the adults? As long as you can do it, do I, a teacher, have to take care of that? I didn't take care of anything during the years when Liu Feng was the prime minister, and I was most free.
but."
Le Lan closed her eyes slightly: "Liu Feng and you are originally on the same team."
Mr. Cui said: "This is inappropriate. The first time Cui and Prime Minister Liu met was at the palace. Their ancestors had never known each other for eighteen generations."
"No need for ancestors." Le Lan said leisurely, "You two are born to be together."
Mr. Cui was stunned: "Cui has no way to argue."
Le Lan said: "It is not that our country of Qin does not have well-educated people. Why did we single out Mr. Cui to be the prince's husband?"
Mr. Cui straightened his back unconsciously: "At that time, the situation in the Qin State was complicated. The prince's son was dead, and the prince still had many sons alive. The queen mother's son was still a concubine, and her mother's family was not in Qin. Even though she asked for help from Leda's family at that time
Would the Le family dare to teach the prince? I'm afraid no one would think that King Qin's treasure seal would fall on the prince." Le Lan was dumbfounded. Outside the door, King Qin thought of old things, it was Mrs. Gao who came to help him in times of need, and he was filled with emotion. Mr. Cui
He went on to say, "Because Cui was a simple person, had decent talents and learning, and had nothing to do with the Qin court, the Queen Mother chose Cui."
"That's right." Le Lan nodded and said, "The same is true for Liu Feng. Both of you are talented and learned, and you are alone in Qin. You have no relatives or friends to care about, and no old enemies to control you. So you do whatever you want without any scruples."
Mr. Cui was puzzled: "Cui still doesn't understand Master Le's meaning. Did Master Liu and I do anything detrimental to the country?"
Le Lan said: "No. You are a lonely minister of the prince, and you only care about the prince. During the years when Liu Feng was the prime minister, all the national policies he implemented were for the good of Qin." He sighed quietly, "Mr. Cui, you only do the best for the prince."
, Prime Minister Liu Feng is only for the good of Qin. He controls the government outside, and you persuade the prince inside." He glanced at Mr. Cui and said, "I know you have no personal relationship with Liu Feng. However, you will naturally agree with Liu Feng's policy.
Because it has no harm to you and is beneficial to Qin. Why do you disapprove of it? Mr. Cui is smart and difficult to deceive. Whenever someone wants to persuade the prince in a roundabout way, you will be stunned to expose it. "
Mr. Cui frowned and said: "If someone sincerely deceives the prince, Cui will naturally not be able to open his eyes and watch. Is there anything wrong with this? Aren't you also ministers of the prince?"
Le Lan said with a cold face: "If it weren't for the civil and military opposition of the Manchu Dynasty, Liu Feng would have almost followed the example of Yan State in collecting land tax."
Mr. Cui suddenly realized: "It turns out..."
Le Lan sighed softly and said seriously: "The king and the ministers are not the same thing. The king should not only care about himself, but also care about his ministers. Mr. Cui, how much truth is there in what I, the prisoner, said?"
Mr. Cui said: "It's just that there are many ministers in the court who agree with Prime Minister Liu Feng's policy."
"Are you talking about Ding Bozhang and others? Of course he agrees. He doesn't have much land at home, how much can he pay in land tax? But he has so many factories and shops."
Mr. Cui said: "It's just that factories and shops pay a lot of taxes, which is what fills the national treasury."
Le Lan curled her lips: "There are more taxes because they earn more."
"Why don't Master Le follow their example and build some factories and shops?"
Le Lan snorted: "I hate the smell of copper! The benevolent are happy in the mountains, and the wise are happy in the water. They have created a mess everywhere, everyone is mediocre and rude, and the philistines are miserable. Do you know that for a while, the merchants dared not to give way to the court officials! All because of this
Because Liu Feng was originally the leader of the merchant party, even though a group of people were neither superior nor inferior, they had no dignity or inferiority. On the surface, Liu Feng added money to the treasury, but in fact it caused the Qin Dynasty's rituals to collapse and the cauldrons to thunder. Even students aged 16 or 17 were
They all say that it doesn’t matter whether the words of the sage are good or not, as long as they can make money. There is nothing in the world that cannot be bought with money. If things continue like this, the country will not be a country."
Mr. Cui nodded slowly: "So Master Le thinks so." Nai thought for a moment and said, "Actually, what the student said... seems to be right."
Le Lan frowned: "What do you mean, Mr. Cui?"
"What do you think money can't buy, Mr. Le?"
Le Lan puffed up her chest and said, "What can he do to buy fame?"
Mr. Cui said: "I remember that in the Fuyuntang case, there was someone who bribed the examiners to cheat on the examination. That was after Liu Feng left office." Le Lan choked. Mr. Cui continued, "Our dynasty has been able to do so since the time of Taizu.
You can also donate to the previous dynasty. Therefore, the scientific examination is not the only way to become an official. You can also buy a title many years ago." Le Lan's face became darker and darker. "Furthermore, Mr. Le feels that Prime Minister Liu's strategy is not good enough.
Okay, isn’t Shu’s strategy similar?”
Le Lan puffed up his chest and said, "The King of Shu has begun to understand that what he is doing is inappropriate in recent years and is trying to gradually revise his national policy."
Mr. Cui frowned and said, "Is there any? How did you tell?"
"Bi Daguan told me."
Mr. Cui was stunned: "What?"
"The official Bi told me," Le Lan said, "Liu Feng made his fortune in the Kingdom of Shu. He once asked the King of Shu for an official position, but the King of Shu refused, so he came to the Kingdom of Qin."
Mr. Cui was stunned again for a while: "Then... Master Le believes it?" This time it was Le Lan who was stunned. Mr. Cui said, "Shu has not even seen the slightest intention to change its national policy, and it just changed its national policy a few months ago.
The Yanzhao Federation used an export tax rebate, which is clearly to encourage the establishment of factories. Moreover, there are fewer and fewer Confucian scholars in the Shu court." Le Lan became more and more stunned. "When it comes to not developing industry and commerce, the whole country regards Qi as its leader.
The most. And among the big countries, Qi is the weakest. Has Mr. Le been to Qi?"
"Never."
"Cui has never been there," Mr. Cui said, "but Cui has seen the information sent from Qi. The muskets worn by the officers and soldiers of Qi are not as good as those that our Qin State eliminated a few years ago; and the firearms of Lu
It is already as strong as our country. If one day, Lu wants to seize Qi's territory, I'm afraid it will be easy."
Le Lan frowned and said, "It's all caused by firearms. If all the countries hadn't been searching for money to buy firearms..."
Before he finished speaking, Mr. Cui interrupted: "When the world was not divided, there were not many firearms in the country, and the imperial court generally searched for wealth. Saints seek wealth, old saints seek wealth, princes seek wealth, and court officials also seek wealth.
.Making money has nothing to do with firearms.”
Le Lan was dumbfounded. After a while, he looked at Mr. Cui and said, "Actually, Mr. Cui understands what I mean, but he is just making excuses sincerely. Which one is more, the fraud and the wrong way, or the right way of scientific research? At that time, the court's pursuit of wealth was different from today's.
The country's pursuit of wealth is completely different. How fair and aboveboard it is to seek wealth now. Nowadays, the whole country, regardless of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, is all seeking wealth!" Le Lan said sadly, "How is it possible?!"
Mr. Cui smiled and shook his head: "I know what Mr. Le means, but Mr. Le doesn't know what I mean. At that time, the court's pursuit of wealth was the same as that of today's countries. Even if there are no firearms, don't armors, swords and guns cost money? Muskets
The price of a piece of clothing is no more expensive than that of tapestry, and the price of artillery may not be higher than that of gold and jade vessels. In the early years, it was not easy for farmers and craftsmen to make money. Although it was easier for merchants, they had to bribe officials for protection. And according to
With Liu Feng's new tax policy, it is difficult for officials to line their own pockets; government procurement items are all subject to bidding, and lawsuits are transparent, making it difficult for gentlemen to ask for bribes. If land taxes are collected again, I am afraid that even families like Lejia will not be able to support their luxury
It’s not that Master Le disdains factories and shops, it’s just that he doesn’t know how to do it and refuses to learn. Running a factory is not easy. If you send slaves to learn, I’m afraid they will run away after they learn. These days, there are escaped slaves every day; if
I want the children of the Le family to study, but I can’t let go of my figure.” He stood up and said, “Cui has nothing to say to Master Le. He only gave one word of advice to Master Le: Confucius said, the deceased is like a man who never gives up day and night.
People cannot defeat the times. If you don’t believe it, just look at the state of Qi.”
Le Lan said nothing.
After walking out of the cell, Mr. Cui asked King Qin with his eyes and tilted his head inward. King Qin shook his head. Then he did not go to see Le Lan, pretending that King Qin had never been there. The group of people walked out of the prison and returned to King Qin's palace.
King Qin had a lot of things in his mind. When he went to the study, he saw King Zhao lying on the imperial concubine's bed and fell asleep. He didn't think it was funny. With so many people coming in, it was inevitable that King Zhao would be awakened. He opened his eyes in confusion: "That Ding
Mei left?"
Ding Mei suddenly said: "No."
"Oh." King Zhao put a hand on his eyes, "You continue talking, and I will continue sleeping."
Mr. Cui said with a smile: "Prince Zhao, please don't sleep anymore. It's cold now. I slept well during the day, but I won't be able to sleep at night."
King Zhao sat up and rubbed his eyes twice: "Did you talk for a long time?" Ding Mei smiled.
Mr. Cui shook his head: "The thousand-year-old King of Zhao is really leisurely." He suddenly remembered something, "Your Majesty, how do you collect the land tax of Zhao State?"
King Zhao yawned: "How can the lonely king remember so much? The tax system of the entire federation is the same."
"Is this the tax system of Yan State?"
"Well." King Zhao said, "Although the lonely king does not have the ambition of Peter the Great, he still knows that the stones from other mountains can attack jade."
Mr. Cui's brows moved: "Who is Peter the Great?"
Ding Mei smiled and said: "Mr. Cui has read all over the world, but he doesn't even know about Peter the Great? This man is the greatest king of Russia, unprecedented and unprecedented." He talked about Peter the Great's great achievements with great interest.
Mr. Cui and King Qin both listened with great interest, and the unhappiness in the cell just now was temporarily dispersed.
After hearing this, King Zhao said: "Actually, he is just 'choosing the good ones and following them' after 'traveling thousands of miles'."
Mr. Cui nodded repeatedly and said: "That's right!" He thought to himself, "The same is true for Jia Cong of Yan State. Choose the best strategy in the world and follow it."
King Zhao said: "The lonely king has traveled to several countries in the past two years. There are many things that cannot be seen in the local places. Just reading a few letters is of no use. Brother Qin Wang, why don't you travel with me." Everyone was stunned.
. He rubbed his neck and said, "Since Mr. Cui mentioned the land tax, I guess your Qin State also wants to change the land tax?"
Mr. Cui said: "It's just that the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty refused."
King Zhao said: "Brother King Qin is just pretending to be sick in bed, and you and I are going to see the world together. How can we do it behind closed doors? You are not as lazy as me and don't want to take care of everything. Look at Yan State, look at Zhao
country, take a look at Qi country, walk around Ping'an Prefecture, walk around Guangzhou, and walk around Dajiala. Just like Peter the Great, see with your own eyes what other countries are like. Let's not talk about anything else, let's just talk about Yue Kingdom. Since the founding of the country
, It stays the same every year, but changes drastically in three years. It is no longer the same thing as the state of Wu. You can’t feel it unless you see it with your own eyes.”
King Qin was stunned. He had seen the photos taken by Queen Zhao and his son, and he was envious of them. The young man also longed to walk around, but he couldn't go because of his status. After a while, he murmured: "Can you?"
"Yes!" King Zhao said, "I entrust the government to that Zhu Tong. He is taking the blame. After all, he has already done those things in the State of Lu. When you come back, the land tax will be changed."