Zhao Huan was pacing back and forth in the room, with a particularly angry expression on his face.
However, what made him angry was the pile of gifts behind him, such as ginseng, jade, jade, etc., they were all rare and rare treasures, countless.
Needless to say, this was naturally a gift from the ministers. Now that the biggest threat to the East Palace has been eliminated, it can be said to be as stable as Mount Tai. Those ministers did not rush to curry favor with the future emperor, for fear of falling behind others, especially those who would have favored King Yun in the beginning.
Even the money was spent to please Zhao Huan.
It is a pity that although Zhao Huan was indecisive, opinionated, cowardly and timid, he inherited a very good tradition of the Northern Song emperor, which was frugality. He hated luxury and extravagance very much. It is precisely because of this that,
He just had a falling out with Wang Fu at the beginning. In fact, it was Wang Fu. When Cai Jing was in power, his relationship with him was not so harmonious.
Li Qi stood aside and looked at the rare treasures in that place, feeling pity in his heart.
"Before Wang Fu came to power, you turned a blind eye to me, and even basic etiquette seemed careless and perfunctory. Now you are trying to curry favor with me with these stolen treasures. This is undoubtedly to trap me in injustice.
Ah, these people are really more hateful than Wang Fu, how can I, Zhao Huan, be at their mercy?" Zhao Huan seemed to have not vented enough, and suddenly picked up a nearby Yu Ruyi and prepared to throw it into the ground.
"Your Highness."
Li Qi's face tightened, and he quickly stepped forward to firmly grasp Yu Ruyi, who was lifted above his head by Zhao Huan, and said: "Your Highness, please calm down, this Yu Ruyi is a gift from the British official."
Zhao Huan was stunned and said: "That's not right, you don't still want to speak for him, do you?"
Li Qi chuckled and said, "Your Highness, please let go first." But he said in his heart, I don't have the habit of standing so close to a gay guy and talking.
Zhao Huan snorted angrily, let go of his hand, and sat back on the chair angrily.
Be good, this thing is so valuable. Li Qi played with it for a while, then carefully put it back and said to Zhao Huan: "Your Highness, please calm down. What they did is only human nature. Don't blame it. Don't blame it."
Zhao Huan snorted: "Then they look down on people too much. How can I, the prince, be confused by these things?"
These are really a bunch of idiots. It would be much more practical to give him dozens of Geng Nanzhong inflatable dolls for safekeeping. Li Qi shook his head and said: "That's just from your standpoint, Your Highness, but from their standpoint, if you don't give this gift,
They feel uneasy, and if His Highness does not accept it, they will become even more frightened, which will be very detrimental to His Highness."
Zhao Huan frowned and said: "Li Qi, you seem to mean something in your words. There is no one else here. Just say what you have to say." After several days of contact, he trusted Li Qi more and more. Whenever there was any trouble, he would ask Li Qi to enter the palace.
After discussing, the relationship between the two is getting better and better.
Li Qi also sat back and said with a smile: "Your Highness, the ministers who gave these gifts probably accounted for half of the court. Although Your Highness has a great status now, if it arouses their fear and forces them to stand
Being on the same front, this is particularly disadvantageous to Your Highness, especially the British Duke. I believe Your Highness also knows that the British Duke is deeply favored by the Emperor, and he is with the Emperor all day long, and his status is very special. This
It is also beyond the reach of the Grand Master and I, so His Highness cannot be his enemy for the time being. Not only can His Highness not refuse the British Duke's overtures of kindness, but he must also appear very happy."
Zhao Huan also calmed down at this time, nodded and said: "What you said makes some sense, but you and the British father---?"
Li Qi chuckled: "It is true that the British Duke and I are incompatible, but this has nothing to do with you, Your Highness. Your Highness can be on good terms with him. If we can get the support of the British Duke, no one can shake His Highness's status.
The temporary calm in the court will also be of great benefit to the reform of the lower officials. Your Highness should focus on the overall situation. As for the British Duke and I, I prefer to deal with it privately and not to affect the government affairs."
Zhao Huan nodded frequently and said with a smile: "Yes! You are right! I should put the overall situation first, but I really don't like these things."
Li Qi rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Your Highness, why don't you lend flowers to the Buddha."
Zhao Huancuo said in astonishment: "Borrow flowers to offer to Buddha?"
Li Qidao: "Your Highness just said that most of these things are harvested. To put it in a nice way, they are taken from the people. In this case, Your Highness will help them do good things and use them for the people.
Donate to the charity foundation, so that His Highness will not have to worry about these things, and it will also help many homeless people, which will also be of great benefit to His Highness's reputation."
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Zhao Huan called out three wonderful words in a row, and said haha: "Li Qi, your idea is really wonderful. It's a good idea to take it from the people and use it for the people. Let's do what you say. Come here!"
"Your Majesty, what do you have to say?"
"Pack these things immediately and donate them all to the charity foundation later."
"I wonder which charitable foundation your Highness wants to donate to?"
Zhao Huan was stunned by this question and said: "Which other charity foundation is there?"
Li Qi chuckled and said, "Have you forgotten, Your Highness, that there is also the Qingtian Charity Foundation established by Gao Yanei?"
Zhao Huan patted his forehead and said, "That's right, that's right, I almost forgot." After saying that, he said to the person in charge, "It's not the Qingtian Charity Foundation anyway."
"Yes. The villain understands."
After those people moved the gifts away, Zhao Huan exclaimed: "Li Qi, with your help, I am really more powerful than a tiger."
"Your Majesty, this is a great reward."
Zhao Huan waved his hand and suddenly said: "By the way, there is something I almost forgot to tell you. Just a few days after the Yingfeng Bureau was abolished, I heard that someone suggested to my father that the Yingfeng Bureau should not be abolished."
Li Qi was surprised and said: "So fast? Is it the British father?"
Zhao Huan shook his head and said: "This comment comes from the harem."
Those women must be so poor that they are crazy. Li Qi was furious in his heart, but he said: "What does the emperor mean?"
"Father, it seems that he has not wavered, but this is always a hidden danger." Zhao Huan frowned.
Li Qi nodded and said: "Your Highness is right, so we need something to replace Ying Fengju."
"Replace Ying Fengju? What should we replace it with?"
"Ordnance Supervisor."
"Ordnance Inspector?"
Li Qi nodded and said: "Yes, envoys from various countries will definitely come to Bianjing during the New Year. This is our opportunity. As long as the weapons inspector makes money, the emperor will gradually forget about his duties."
Zhao Huan frowned and pondered for a moment, then said: "There is still something wrong. What my father likes is not the strings of copper coins, but the strange stones, flowers and trees, etc."
Li Qi smiled and said: "I know this, but as long as we have money, everything will be easy. The so-called strange stones, flowers and trees are just luxury goods among commodities, and the existence of luxury goods also has its reasons. Once we are big
With the economic recovery of the Song Dynasty, some people will definitely think of the benefits in this area. At that time, there will only be an endless supply of luxury goods shipped from Jiangnan to Bianjing. However, this is different from Ying Fengju. Ying Fengju is acting under orders, and the latter belongs to
Private business is a legal transaction. For example, if Ying Fengju takes a fancy to a certain strange stone, their past practice is to transport the stone to the capital at all costs, destroying houses, bridges, and even buildings on the way.
Even if it is a palace wall, they cannot be held responsible. But if it is done by private individuals, they must consider these factors and come up with the most reasonable and legal way to transport the stones. If they damage people's houses, it is illegal.
, should be compensated. When these luxury goods are transported to Bianjing, the emperor can pay to buy them from merchants. In this way, it will not only save the country’s expenditure, but also reduce the harm to the people, and it can also stimulate to a certain extent
Consumption."
Zhao Huan listened patiently to Li Qi's words, and then pondered for a while before saying: "Well. In any case, this is much better than Yingfeng Bureau, but you are sure that the weapons supervisor will definitely make a lot of money."
"Of course I am sure. Moreover, Your Highness, you can apply for this position to the Emperor and participate in all weapons sales in the Arms Supervision on behalf of the Emperor." Li Qi smiled slightly. In fact, he was doing this to prevent the Third Si and Cai You from getting involved.
The most important thing is Cai You. Because if the arms business is really done in the future, then Song Huizong will definitely send someone to participate as his representative. After all, this is an arms transaction. No matter how faint Song Huizong is, he will not be able to completely let Li Qi have full power.
The decision was made, and Cai You was the privy envoy. He wanted to get involved, and the reason for his participation was quite good. Rather than letting Cai You take advantage of it, it would be better to involve the weak prince. In that case, he could control the situation.
When Zhao Huan heard this, he immediately understood the stakes involved. He smiled thoughtfully and suddenly said: "But my father may not agree?"
Li Qi smiled and said: "Your Highness, just go, the Emperor will definitely agree, because Your Highness is the most suitable candidate."
Having said this, how could Zhao Huan not know and said: "Okay! Then I'll go and give it a try. Haha, Li Qi, you just think you're one step ahead of others. I'm not wrong about the person."
"Where, where, Your Highness has given me the award."
After deceiving the prince, Li Qi left the East Palace. It was almost evening, so he went back to the Qin Mansion directly without going to the company.
"Wow! What are you doing? Am I back in the East Palace again?"
When Li Qi came to the back hall and saw the room full of gifts, he jumped up in fright, covered his mouth with his hands and said in horror.
At this time, there was also a big beauty and a beautiful lady sitting in the room, it was Mrs. Qin and Li Qingzhao.
"You are finally back. Look at the good things you have done." Mrs. Qin glared at Li Qi slightly and said.
Li Qi was confused. He opened his hands and said, "Madam, I have done a lot of good things. I wonder which one you are talking about?"
Li Qingzhao smiled slightly, pointed towards the gifts, and said, "This is a good thing."
"Sister Qingzhao, who sent these gifts?" Li Qi's eyes lit up as he spoke, "Could it be the betrothal gift given to his wife by the rich man?"
"Li Qi, what are you talking about?" Mrs. Qin shouted immediately, and her chest felt turbulent again.
Li Qingzhao also rolled his eyes at Li Qi and said, "These are all given to you by others."
"Given it to me?" Li Qi asked quickly: "Is it a boy or a girl?"
What is this person thinking about all day long? Mrs. Qin hummed: "What about men? What about women?"
"If I'm a man, it's about my career. If I'm a woman, it's about my appearance! So my response will be different." Li Qi said hehely.
Shameless!
Mrs. Qin's face turned away angrily and she was speechless.
Li Qingzhao was used to it and said with a smile: "The former."
Li Qi snorted and said calmly: "So you are here to curry favor with me."
"You seem quite disappointed?"
Mrs. Qin looked at Li Qi's disappointed look and hummed.
"A little bit, but now that I think about it, I'm not disappointed anymore. I've been around for so long and finally someone gave me a gift. Oh my god, it's really not easy when you think about it." Li Qi sighed.
Mrs. Qin was shocked and said: "You still want to accept it." One can imagine how guilty accepting bribes must be for a conservative woman like Mrs. Qin.
"Isn't it possible?"
"Of course not. This is ill-gotten wealth. How can you collect it? Do you still lack this little money?" Mrs. Qin affirmed.
"It's not lacking." Li Qi shook his head and said: "But madam, since you knew this was ill-gotten wealth, why did you keep it? Why didn't you refuse it at that time?"
Mrs. Qin snorted: "You said I didn't. I don't know how many times I've helped you refuse in the past few days---"
"What!"
Li Qi exclaimed and said: "No - I don't know how many - how many have I rejected? Isn't this the first time? Madam, how could you do this? People gave me gifts out of love.
My heart, why do you decide for me, and you didn’t say anything to me? This is really a stupid thing to do."
Mrs. Qin said in disbelief: "You still blame me? Do you think I want to do this? I am almost annoyed to death by this. Do you know that you are accepting bribes and breaking the law knowingly? Also, I also want to tell you, but
You always come back late at night these days, how could I have a chance?"
"This cannot be used as a reason." Li Qi glanced at Mrs. Qin resentfully and said: "And this is not accepting bribes. The key to bribery is that there is a response to requests, and it is a two-way street. But I only accept gifts and do not do anything.
, that doesn’t mean bribery, sister Qingzhao, did I say something wrong?”
This man is really different. Even his corruption can be justified. Li Qingzhao nodded helplessly and said: "What you said makes sense, but this is not what a gentleman does."
"I'm a businessman."
"That---okay then."
Mrs. Qin had been frightened since the incident with Cai You last time. This was really the first time she had encountered such a bold person as Li Qi. She hurriedly said: "This is not possible. You have caused enough trouble now. How can you return the favor?"
If you are able to accept these gifts, if anyone finds out, I'm afraid you will have to enter Kaifeng Mansion again."
This madam didn't even say a nice word, but cursed me to go to jail. She was really vicious. Li Qi said: "Madam, since you have blocked so many gifts for me, why did you let them come in again this time?"
"I have no choice. Those people today asked you to help them donate these gifts to the charity foundation. But they didn't want to donate these gifts to the charity foundation. They were clearly donated to you." Mrs. Qin.
The more I talked, the more annoyed I became.
"Oh I got it."
Li Qi chuckled, casually picked up a roll of silk and looked at it, and said: "This thing is really top-notch." He said in his heart, "Mom, I'll give you Yu Ruyi if you give it to the prince, and give it to me."
Bujuan, you look down on people so much.
This person is really greedy. Mrs. Qin really couldn't stand it any longer. She was about to have an attack when Li Qingzhao suddenly winked at her and asked her to calm down.
Li Qi secretly glanced at Mrs. Qin with his peripheral vision, chuckled secretly, and then smiled at Li Qingzhao and said: "Sister Qingzhao, you have always been resourceful, what do you think you should do with these gifts?"
"I dare not claim to be resourceful in front of you, otherwise I wouldn't have fallen into such a miserable situation." Li Qingzhao shook his head and said: "But I think there are three types of gifts, one is the exchange of gifts between relatives and friends, and the other is the exchange of gifts between relatives and friends.
The first is to ask someone to do something, for you, it is bribery, and the third is to spend money to buy peace of mind. I believe these gift-givers belong to the third type, so you can accept this gift or not."
Li Qi nodded hurriedly and said: "It makes sense, it makes sense, but should I accept it or not?"
Li Qingzhao said: "Anything is fine!"
"Oh? How do you say this?"
"If you don't want to accept it, that's natural. If you want to accept it, then you can receive it the same way they send it."
Mrs. Qin frowned slightly and said: "Sister, do you mean to seriously donate these gifts to the charity foundation?"
Li Qingzhao nodded and said: "That's right. They didn't send this gift to ask Li Qi to do anything, otherwise they wouldn't have left the gift and left. They just wanted to feel at ease, or to curry favor with Li Qi. Since they
After finding an excuse that even his sister couldn't stop, Li Qi could just go with the flow and exchange these gifts into money and donate them to the refugees. Wouldn't it be a double win? Even if someone really pursues the case, Li Qi would have someone to stand up to.
It’s because of the feet, so it doesn’t matter whether you close it or not.”
Li Qi smiled and said: "Then which approach does Sister Qingzhao prefer?"
Li Qingzhao shook his head and said: "I don't dare to talk nonsense about this kind of thing. It's better for you to make your own decision. I think all you need is a clear conscience."
"Sister Qingzhao still understands me." Li Qi chuckled and said to Mrs. Qin with a long face: "Madam, why haven't you learned anything from me when you stay with sister Qingzhao all day long?"
Mrs. Qin rolled her eyes and hummed: "Okay, even if my sister is right, even if this is not ill-gotten wealth, then you got it for nothing. Do you feel at ease with what you get? How can you have a clear conscience?"
Li Qi shrugged and said, "It seems that you still haven't heard clearly what Sister Qingzhao said. This is not something for nothing. I am their reassurance. They give gifts for peace of mind. If I accept them, they can feel at ease. This is also a business.
"
"If so, it is a crime of bribery."
"!" Li Qi smiled bitterly and said, "Then how should we deal with it according to Madam's wishes?"
"If I had known, I would have blocked those people out at that time."
Li Qi shook his head helplessly and said to Li Qingzhao: "Sister Qingzhao, please help me persuade her."
Li Qingzhao sighed softly and said: "Sister, I know what you are worried about, but I think your worries are unfounded. If he would listen to you, he would have listened to you a long time ago. He would never wait until today, but he still refuses to change despite repeated advice.
, why should you be upset about this?"
Mrs. Qin nodded and said helplessly: "What my sister said makes sense, but now all the thousands of people in Zuixianju are tied to him. If he is left alone, if anything happens, I will not be able to atone for my sins even if I die.
"
Li Qingzhao smiled and said: "At this point, worrying is of no use. If you can't bear it, just cut off the relationship with him. With his current status, if you want to retreat, you will definitely not be able to do so. You can only keep working hard to move forward."
Climb up."
"I'm not worried about myself, I'm just worried about injuring other people." Mrs. Qin shook her head and sighed softly, then said: "But, sister, I really didn't expect these words to come out of your mouth."
Li Qingzhao smiled and said: "It seems that the impact of my incident on my sister was really not small."
Li Qi said hey: "Sister Qingzhao, what you said is absolutely right."
Mrs. Qin's eyes widened.
Li Qi raised his hands and said, "Okay, okay, I won't tell you, but you will."
Li Qingzhao gave a bitter smile and said: "Sister, actually you only saw one side of the matter. When it comes to those things back then, I complained about people, not things. Since I was born in such a family, I should be prepared for everything.
I have no regrets, but the only way to avoid this kind of thing is for you to become the winner. However, if my father had won, there would still be another Li Qingzhao, but things are inevitable."
Mrs. Qin said: "That's not the case. In fact, there is another way."
Li Qingzhao naturally knew that Mrs. Qin meant not to be an official at all, so he shook his head and said, "I know you don't like fighting with others. In fact, I don't like it even more. But I think this is an extremely selfish idea. As the ancients said,
, Men should fight on the battlefield and make contributions. Since you have the ability to benefit the people, if you don't step forward, you will be sorry to the people of the world. Since ancient times, whether it is the Han Dynasty or the Tang Dynasty, which dynasty has not had these so-called party struggles, the same
So, why were Emperors Wen of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty so prosperous? Were there no such intrigues in the court at that time? I don't think so. But why during the Emperor Xuan of the Tang Dynasty and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the country became riddled with holes.
[***] It’s unbearable. It can be seen that the existence of intrigues is not a mistake, but an inevitable result. It also has both good and bad sides. I think that only through constant thinking, quarrels, and competition can the country make progress.
So the key lies in people. A country must have someone to stand up and take on this responsibility. If everyone thinks like you and hides at home just because they are afraid of the intrigues between the DPRK and China, then the country will not be in charge. How can it be said?
Yes. Yes, I misjudged Li Qi earlier and thought that becoming an official was a wrong choice for him. But now it seems that I was wrong. Nothing he did was beneficial to the country and the people. It was precisely because of his
His existence has saved thousands of people. If he listens to you and resigns without doing anything, although you are worthy of the thousands of people in Zuixianju, you will be ashamed of the people of the world."
Confidant, absolute confidant. Li Qi burst into tears when he heard this. He did not expect that the person who knew him best was Li Qingzhao. He said with great excitement: "Well said, well said, sister Qingzhao, what you said is really good.
,I love you so much."
"You---what did you say?" Li Qingzhao was stunned, then frowned and said angrily.
Sweat! Why do I always talk nonsense when I meet sister Qingzhao? Li Qi himself was also very distressed, and quickly changed his words: "Oh no, no, no, no, I adore you, I adore you so much. It's true that my parents are the one who gave birth to me, and the one who knows me is Qingzhao."
Sister. With your words, Sister Qingzhao, I will die without regrets."
Li Qingzhao thought that Li Qi's old habit had relapsed, so he didn't pay attention. Instead, he glanced at Mrs. Qin and saw her expression was gloomy. He hurriedly said: "Sister, what I said is too serious, don't take it to heart."
Mrs. Qin was slightly startled, quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, no, sister is right. Actually, when I think about it, I have always been too selfish."
"No, no." Li Qi shook his head and said: "Madam, you are not wrong. Selfishness is everyone's nature. Even saints are selfish. Your selfishness is just that you don't want everyone in Zuixianju to be harmed. This
It is a kind of respectable selfishness, and we have always kept this intention in mind, but after all, you and I have different positions and different pursuits, so I am sorry that I have not listened to you on this matter, and it will still be the case in the future.
I respect your persistence, and I hope you can understand my persistence."
In fact, what Li Qingzhao said must be right. That's not the case, because Mrs. Qin is that kind of typical woman. She has all the advantages and disadvantages of a woman. She just doesn't want everyone around her to be hurt. As for military and national affairs, she
I don't care much about it. Most women are like this. But Li Qingzhao is an alternative among women. She has ambitions. Whether it is talent, knowledge or knowledge, she is not weaker than men, so the two are completely different.
Women with different surnames naturally have different considerations. If we have to discuss right and wrong, it would be unfair to both of them.
Mrs. Qin was stunned for a moment, looked at Li Qi in disbelief, and said, "Li Qi, I've known you for so long, but this is the first time I've heard you talk seriously."
Li Qi smiled and said: "I have known you for so long, madam, and I have long discovered that you are both kind and beautiful."
"I take back what I just said." Mrs. Qin blushed and said calmly.
Li Qingzhao smiled and shook his head, saying, "Then what do you plan to do with these gifts?"
Li Qi said hey: "Sister Qingzhao, what you said is so good, of course I will listen to you."
Li Qingzhao smiled and said: "You have known your sister for so long, and she can't change any of your thoughts. How can you listen to me? You must have planned this for a long time."
"This is different. How dare Li Qi not listen to sister Qingzhao's teachings?"
"Well, I hope you can help me take revenge on the Grand Master."
"Ah? Uh." Li Qi scratched his head and said, "This---this shouldn't be considered instructing, right?"
Li Qingzhao chuckled and said: "I just said it casually. Even if you agree, I don't dare to let you do this. The past has passed. Although I still hate the Grand Master, I have never thought of revenge, because this
It will only hurt more people."
"That's very well said." Li Qi felt relieved and asked, "By the way, sister Qingzhao, aren't you going back for the New Year this year? Those ancient gold and stone paintings won't run away, you can come back after the New Year."
Li Qingzhao smiled and said: "Thank you for your concern. I received a letter from my husband a few days ago. He has made an appointment with a few friends to come to the capital to get together. I guess they are on the way now. However, talking about these ancient paintings on gold and stone, I remembered
One thing comes up, if you and His Highness King Yun cause such a trouble, will he---."
"Absolutely not." Li Qi interrupted Li Qingzhao and said: "Sister Qingzhao, you can rest assured. King Yun is so proud. How can he take back what he gave out? Just wait and see next year.