Because Yan Shiqing had been on the boat for a long time and was pregnant, she did not plan to enter the palace. At this moment, she and Aunt Huo were sitting in the flower hall.
When she heard what the old shopkeeper said after coming in, she frowned and nodded: "I understand, I would like to ask the old shopkeeper to go back and tell the prince not to worry."
After she said this and saw the old shopkeeper leaving, she nodded to Nanny Huo and returned to the wing with Bai Zhi's support.
Chu Ximo had just finished changing her clothes, and when she saw her coming in looking like she was thinking, she immediately said, "What's going on?"
"Ah Mo, just now the old shopkeeper of Jishitang came to send a message, saying that Emperor Dexuan wanted to ask Qi Lie to double the canal tax. I think you need to know this. When you see Emperor Dexuan later, tell me.
This canal is not only related to the people of Hongwu Kingdom, but also to our country. If the tax is high, the merchants of our country will make less profit. If we transport things back, the price will be high. This is related to our country.
Our people must not be negligent!"
Yan Shiqing said this mainly because of food issues.
Since the opening of canals in parts of Hongwu and Dachu, some merchants have begun to buy and sell grain.
It's just that they are all small businesses, and due to the tense situation between the two countries, they are not so upright after all.
But starting last year, she and Chu Ximo took a trip to Hongwu Kingdom. After the two countries officially started friendly exchanges, the Lian Mansion had officially started doing business in this area as they had originally said to her.
Now that the flood problem in the entire Hongwu Kingdom has been solved, the production of food has also increased a lot, so the price is much cheaper than in previous years.
However, due to tax issues, the price was slightly higher when shipped to Dachu.
Even so, the rice shipped to the capital of Dachu was only ten cents per catty.
Other places are even cheaper, such as Huaizhou and Jiangzhou, which are close to the Hongwu Kingdom and have begun to produce rice, so the price is almost the same as that of rice and noodles, which costs 56 cents per pound, which is no more than 8 cents.
If this tax is doubled, it means that the price of food will also increase accordingly.
For Da Chu, this is bound to be the worst result, and it is also the last thing they want to see.
When Yan Shiqing first proposed building the canal, he had two purposes. First, he believed that it could solve the floods in Hongwu and alleviate the drought in Da Chu. Second, it was mainly to solve the problem of food and clothing for the people of Da Chu.
Even after the canals are dug in Dachu, it will be extremely difficult for Dachu to have a high yield of grain.
Coupled with climate issues, not all places are suitable for growing rice.
It might be sorghum, it might be wheat, it might even be corn.
The grain output in Dachu has always been low, and most of the people are half hungry and half full.
Finally, the Hongwu Kingdom gave hope, and the large-scale promotion of potatoes and sweet potatoes finally solved the problem of food and clothing.
So at this time, not only she, but also Emperor Ximo of Chu and Emperor Shun'an would not allow Emperor Dexuan to unilaterally increase the taxes on the canals, which would lead to an increase in the price of things transported to Da Chu.
Chu Ximo didn't expect this and nodded immediately: "Don't worry, I know what to do. It seems that Emperor Dexuan is eager to make money. In this case, our negotiation should have a greater chance of winning!"
Yan Shiqing didn't say anything, but nodded slightly. Since Ah Mo already knew, she didn't have to worry about it.
In fact, according to the original plan, she personally persuaded Emperor Dexuan after arriving in Hongwu Kingdom.
She knew how to best hit Emperor Dexuan's heart, but since she became pregnant again, her plan changed.
Everyone wanted her to have a good pregnancy and raise a baby, and no matter what it was, she just had to leave it to others.
As for herself, she had just arrived in Hongwu Country and hadn't had a good rest, so she was too lazy to make this trip.
Two-quarters of an hour later, in the prince's residence, Qi Lie was walking back and forth in the study uneasily.
When he heard the news that Feng Jun was back from outside the door, he hurriedly went out to greet him.
"What, but have you made it clear to the other side?"
According to Qi Lie's own wishes, he personally went to pick up Yan Shiqing and Chu Ximo, but the counselors did not recommend that he go there at this time.
He was afraid that when he came into contact with King Mo and his wife, King Mo's refusal to raise canal taxes would make his father think too much.
"Say, the old shopkeeper responded. Princess Mo said that she knew about this matter, so Prince Mo can rest assured. Counting the time, King Mo has almost arrived in the palace now. Prince Mo will just wait for the news again."
Qi Lie breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the other side had received the news, and then said: "How are the preparations on the ship side now? I mean, wrapping a circle of thin iron around the bottom of the ship and around the ship."
"Back to the Crown Prince, this time it has been handled by the General's Office and the Lien Office. I don't know the specific situation!"
Qi Lie rolled his eyes and waved his hand: "You can go down and let people pay attention to the situation in the palace. Once King Mo leaves the palace, he will come back immediately to report."
"yes!"
After Feng Jun exited, he pondered in the study for a long time, then disguised himself, looked down at his now intact legs, and then left the Prince's Mansion through the side door.
To this day, when he wakes up from his dream at midnight, he still can't imagine that he can stand up completely and can run and jump.
This was something he never dared to think about before.
I remember that when he arrived in Huaizhou, the great state of Chu, he was already prepared to die.
Later, when he arrived at Ruanjiakeng and was dying, he even thought that maybe he would never wake up after falling down like that.
Who knew that not only were they fine, but they were now just like normal people?
Some people believe that he has a new pair of legs.
In the imperial study room of the palace, Emperor Dexuan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he saw Chu Ximo coming alone.
How he wished it was Yan Shiqing who came!
Chu Ximo seemed not to have seen the look in his eyes. He first saluted Emperor Dexuan as the envoy of Chu, and then went directly to the topic: "I don't know what is going on when His Majesty the Hongwu Kingdom asked Emperor Xuan to enter the palace?
"
Emperor Dexuan cleared his throat uncomfortably, and then said: "I heard that Princess Mo also came with her, but I don't know why she didn't enter the palace?"
Surprise flashed in Chu Ximo's eyes. Logically speaking, it was against the rules for a majestic emperor to ask his female relatives about this matter. Emperor Dexuan should not ask this question.
But now he not only asked, but also asked so naturally. I guess he was stimulated by something, right?
"She is pregnant now and it is not suitable to run around. She has rested at home."
When Emperor Dexuan suddenly heard the news, he was stunned for a moment, then felt a little embarrassed.
He has always focused on the fact that Yan Shiqing is a rich person, thinking that she is a person whose random thoughts are all about making money.
I completely forgot that she is actually not very old, less than 20 years old.
Now having a baby is what she should do at that age.
It is really inappropriate to ask this question in front of someone's husband.
"Are you pregnant? Then..." yyls
When he said this, he wanted to give me something as a reward, but he was a little reluctant to give it up.
The gold, silver and jewelry were definitely not good enough, so I gave him some precious medicinal materials to replenish his body.
But those that can be sent to the palace are priceless.
This was given away in vain, and he felt a little hurt.
Besides, Yan Shiqing was a descendant of the Chu royal family, not from his Hongwu kingdom, so what kind of reward could he give?
Seeing the struggle in his eyes, Chu Ximo could guess what he was thinking right now, and immediately said: "Your Majesty Hongwu Kingdom, I heard that you intend to increase the tax on the canals. I wonder if this is possible?"
As he spoke, he did not wait for Emperor Dexuan to answer, but said to himself: "I think this matter is inappropriate. If the Hongwu Kingdom improves, our country, Chu, will inevitably improve accordingly. At that time, let alone your Hongwu Kingdom.
How much is the price of grain, tea, cloth and other items in Da Chu? Just talking about the iron ore in Da Chu, such as weapons, pots, shovels, farm tools and other items, it should be doubled..."
Emperor Dexuan only wanted to fill his small treasury, thinking that he only raised taxes. The people's capitation tax and land tax did not change. These had nothing to do with them. He just wanted the merchants to earn less.
Now when I heard Chu Ximo's words, I was instantly dumbfounded.
The most lacking thing in Hongwu Kingdom is all kinds of minerals, especially iron. They are mainly related to daily necessities, as well as spears, swords and other items.
Now if Da Chu raises those prices because of the problem of the canals, not to mention what happens to the people, the weapons that the army needs to replace every year will not be replenished in time.
When something happens, if you go to the battlefield with a broken sword, you will die.
And this costs a huge amount of money every year.
In the past, Xia Mansion could find ways to get iron ore, and Feng Boyi also wanted to try his best to get some from there. He knew it.
It's just that they turned a blind eye, and they didn't want him to care about it anyway, and they didn't want him to pay for it, so he just pretended that he didn't know about it.
However, since Feng Boyi took office, most of the troops he returned have returned to his hands, except for a small number of them with Prince Qi Lie.
That is because it took him a whole year from last year to now to understand how much manpower, material and financial resources it would take to raise those soldiers.
Without Feng Boyi, the treasury allocated a lot of things to the military camp in the first half of the year alone.
Thinking about those things, his heart bled with pain.
Some of them are just the basics, such as the monthly meals and rice, the monthly military pay required by those people, the herbs needed by the military doctors, and clothing and quilts.
A batch of these swords and other weapons are eliminated every year, and they have not been replaced this year.
If Da Chu increases, it means he will have to spend more money, which may be much more than the increase in taxes.
Thinking of this, he suddenly lost his composure.
The Hongwu Kingdom did not have many soldiers, but even so, there were hundreds of thousands.
Not everyone can ride a horse and shoot arrows, but everyone should have a spear or a sword.
Hongwu Kingdom and Da Chu have signed a hundred-year friendship terms, so there is nothing to worry about. He is just afraid that the newly ascended throne from Dagu Kingdom is ambitious and will take the opportunity to attack them when he learns that Hongwu Kingdom does not even have decent weapons.