Li Mu was not lying when he said he wanted to talk about scripts with Jin Chen. Jin Chen's passion for acting has never diminished, but no matter how good an actor is, he can't do it without a good script. So after Li Mu came back, Jin Chen begged
He wrote a script.
But Li Mu can only remember so many classics. He has used The Red Mansion, The Injustice of Dou E, and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He also wanted to play a drama suitable for a heroine. He really can't remember anything. He only picked up "The Peony Pavilion", "Cui Yingying"
》 and so on, and told stories for half a night. When I woke up the next day, my eye sockets were all black.
After Li Mu finished washing, he told the maid not to wake up Jin Chen, and when he rushed to the front hall, the atmosphere in the flower hall was very different from yesterday.
The people sitting in the hall at this moment were all the directors of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They all had the status of masters and apprentices with Li Mu. When they heard that Li Mu was back, they came collectively to pay their respects.
Li Mu was also very happy to meet his old friend for the first time. Nowadays, those who graduated from Datang Technical School are able to stand on their own and are no longer the rookies they were before. Especially Xu Jingzong's nephew Xu Ji is better than the last time Li Mu saw him.
He had gained a lot of weight and looked a bit like Chang Sun Chong back in the day. Li Mu didn’t recognize him at first sight. Only when he announced his family name did he know his name. Li Mu patted his belly and said with a smile: “Look at you.
You look like a corrupt official with this fat head! I should kill you with Shang Fang's sword!"
Cold sweat broke out on Xu Ji's forehead. Although he knew what Li Mu said was a joke, he still couldn't help but feel the cold wind on the back of his neck: "Don't forget the principal's teachings. You should never do corruption."
Changsun Chong pointed out: "My mentor, don't believe him. I heard that this guy built a big house in his hometown, which cost tens of thousands of dollars. He even showed off it some time ago."
"Really?" Li Mu glanced at it and asked with a smile: "Is it true or false? I can't tell!"
Xu Ji glared at Changsun Chong complainingly, knowing that he couldn't hide it from Li Mu, so he bowed and said: "Principal, students don't dare to be greedy, but they have to give. I - oh, please punish me, principal."
"Punishment." Li Mu waved his hand and said, "When did the principal say that you can't be greedy?"
"Can you be greedy?" Several bureau chiefs widened their eyes. Each of them is a person who holds real power. If corruption is allowed, there will be a lot of money, and they can do it without anyone noticing.
"You have to pay attention to methods when doing things. You can be flexible if you don't touch the principles. As for the scale, you have to decide it yourself. If you go too far and lose your life, don't blame me for not reminding you, but there is no need to learn.
Wei Zheng, you all hold real power in your hands, this is too shabby and cannot be justified."
Li Mu's words are thought-provoking. He said that you can be greedy, but if you are greedy too much, you will die. You have to decide the scale. Talking about it is like saying nothing. Most of the students at Datang Technical School are businessmen. Greed is their nature. Who can blame them?
How much money is there? It's just because I was afraid of the "military training" given by Li Mu during the Datang Technical School, and I was timid. Now that I was given a cut, but I didn't tell how big the cut was, I was really itching.
Li Mu didn't want to discuss these things too much, so he changed the topic and started talking about the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He had been away from Chang'an for almost a year and didn't know many details about the Ministry of Internal Affairs. These people came today because they wanted to catch up with the New Year.
Before that, I should make a report to Li Mu to see where I have fallen short, and also to find out where the Ministry of Internal Affairs should go after the Foreign Affairs Office is on the right track.
…
Chang'an City, heaven and earth.
In the largest private room, several people were sitting. Except for the most mysterious Longxi Li family, the other six families of the five surnames and seven sects were all here.
There were guards at the door, standing like guns.
In the room, several people were sitting around the table. Although there were wine and food on the table, judging from their appearance, it did not look like it was a small gathering for a banquet.
There was a light snowfall in Chang'an today, and the temperature dropped sharply. Just like the six businesses, it entered the cold winter period.
Taiyuan Wang family, because of the relationship between Wang Gui and Wang Pu, originally got along best with Li Mu, but then Wang Gui's buttocks became crooked and was sent back to Taiyuan by Li Shimin to retire. Taiyuan Wang family and Li Mu began to get along a little bit.
Far, although Wang Ou has become one of Li Mu's wives now, Wang Ou is no longer someone that the Taiyuan Wang family can control. Moreover, because of the forced marriage, it is unknown how much resentment Wang Ou has in his heart. With such
There is almost no relationship at all. When Wang Ou first returned to Luoyang, people from the Wang family in Taiyuan wanted to see her, but she didn't even see her. This has been evident from then on.
Qinghe Cui family, because of the relationship with the Cheng family, Qinghe Cui family has also invested in Datang Mining. Although the coal mining business is going very smoothly this year, the cost of coal mining is also very high, and the foundation is still being laid this year.
In such a state, the cost cannot be recovered. And I don’t know whether Li Mu did it intentionally or unintentionally. For nearly a year, he stopped taking care of the affairs of Datang Mining and Datang Salt Industry. It is equivalent to saying that Li Mu made a start.
But they didn't care about what happened next, so now they have no direction.
As soon as Cui Yuzheng's incident came out, the relationship instantly hit rock bottom. The Cui family in Qinghe is now divided into two major factions. Some advocate revenge for Cui Yuzheng, while others advocate suppressing the matter and repairing the relationship with Li Mu as soon as possible. There is no internal strife yet.
Completely solved.
The Boling Cui family is definitely the main force against Li Mu among the six families. The single heir was killed by Li Mu. The Cui family was faced with handing over the family business to a branch to inherit. The Cui family was full of resentment and was determined not to reconcile with Li Mu.
.
However, the Zheng family in Xingyang and the Lu family in Fanyang, who used to be enemies with Li Mu, have changed their attitudes. Because of Zheng Guanyin's relationship, the Zheng family in Xingyang has planned to reconcile with Li Mu. Moreover, in Luoyang some time ago, the great scholar Zheng Jing almost fell into Li Mu's trap.
In his hands, at the last moment, Li Mu spared him a favor, and the Xingyang family Zheng also wanted to remember this favor.
Needless to say, the Lu family of Fan Yang almost jumped up when he learned that Li Mu was the son of Mrs. Lu. Before, he regarded Li Mu as an enemy because Li Mu was an outsider, but now that he has this relationship, to put it bluntly,
To be disrespectful, if Li Mu wants to rebel, Fan Yanglu will be the first to raise the flag and is Li Mu's staunchest supporter.
Zhaojun Li's attitude towards Li Mu is also very respectful. The reason is for no other reason than profit. Zhaojun Li's business mainly lies in the horse and carriage business and transportation. Li Mu invented the four-wheeled carriage and built the horse road.
, repairing the lanes in Chang'an City, and the road reconstruction plan in Luoyang City are also in progress. At present, it seems that the person who will benefit the most is the Li family of Zhao County. Although it is not said that without Li Mu, they will starve to death, but there is no
Without Li Mu, it is an indisputable fact that at least one-third of the income has been lost.
However, they did not stand up to support Li Mu with a clear-cut banner. That is because Li Mu recently proposed to collect taxes and bridge tolls. The Li family of Zhao County was also the one who suffered the biggest impact. Now they want to sit back and watch the fight between tigers, so it is best to force them
Li Mu made a concession and did not charge bridge tolls and taxes. This would maximize the benefits for the Li family in Zhao County.
Li Mu came back from Qizhou with all his beard and tail and no injuries at all. Although he has not returned to Chang'an yet, if he wanted to come back, wouldn't it be possible anytime and anywhere? The more people thought about it, the more uneasy they became, and that's how we are today.
meeting.
The person in charge of the Cui family in Qinghe looked at the anxious expressions of everyone and said: "Don't be too nervous, everyone. I have inquired and found out that Li Mu is staying well in Luoyang City and seems to have no intention of coming back, at least not after the New Year.
Everyone, please keep your hearts in your stomach first.”
When everyone heard this, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but the person in charge of the Bolingcui family immediately poured cold water on him and said: "Now that we have Chidao, we don't need to go back and forth between Chang'an and Luoyang for a day. If he wants to go back to Chang'an, he can do it anytime and anywhere. Who can stop him?"
Can you live there? According to the rules and etiquette, Li Mu will definitely come back to pay his respects to His Majesty before and after the Chinese New Year. If he gets a whim——"
When everyone heard this, they suddenly became frightened again.
The person in charge of the Li family in Zhao County changed the subject and said: "What are you talking about? Li Mu hasn't come back yet? Even if he comes back, what can we do? Are we still afraid of him? What bad things have we done?
Everyone is here today, so let’s talk about Li Ji’s march to the north. What do you think His Majesty wants to do? Is he going to use force against Goguryeo?"
The Wang family member in Taiyuan said: "None of us can guess His Majesty's thoughts. To be honest, I have not inquired about Goguryeo before, but now I have asked people to investigate."
For a time, several big shots suddenly began to care about national affairs, and expressed their opinions on the situation in Goguryeo. Finally, they came to the conclusion that the matter would have an outcome at least next spring. The reason why everyone is concerned about this matter is that if the war breaks out, there will be a solution.
It affects all aspects. Some businesses will be difficult to do, while other businesses will skyrocket. If you can predict the opportunity, the benefits you can get are unimaginable.
Who doesn’t want to make money from war? But no matter how we talk, one person cannot be avoided, and that is Li Mu. Although he is not here, he is obviously one of the core topics of the conversation.
The Bolingcui family was not very popular, so he shot several cases and said: "I don't understand, what are you afraid of? Li Mu doesn't have three heads and six arms, what is there to be afraid of? Why are you so afraid of him? Let me tell you, our family is all afraid of him."
Sending some people here and taking action together to kill this kid is not a hopeless thing!"
After hearing this, Fan Yang's people from the Lu family also slapped the table and said, "What the hell are you kidding! Li Mu is the son of the eldest daughter of my Lu family, and he is a member of my Lu family. Anyone who dares to touch Li Mu will do it for me and the Lu family."
enemy!"
"How about being an enemy? Are you still afraid of me?!" The Bolingcui family has no heir and is ready to risk everything. If they weren't worried that there were still people in the six families who supported Li Mu, they would have planned to assassinate him.
But at this moment, I’m afraid no one dares to take this job. The bearded man is now in Luoyang. Among the desperate people in the world, who dares to offend the ancestor? He is a master who can even come and go freely in the palace!
Everyone tried to persuade them, but the fight finally stopped. People from the Zheng family in Xingyang said: "Li Mu is scary because you can't see his cards, but he can always do scary things, so
That’s why I’m afraid!”
"That's why I said, let's just kill Li Mu. Back when there was no Li Mu, our six families would be able to call the shots. Wouldn't we be happy?"
Fan Yanglu said calmly: "When there was no Li Mu, my eldest lady was the leader. When did you become the leader? In the past, it was our eldest lady, and now it is the young master. If mother and son join forces, it will only be because of you people."
, who is their opponent?”
Everyone was not angry, but they couldn't say anything. One or two of them pretended not to hear, and just snorted and fell silent.
"Let's talk about Li Ji's trip to the north." The person in charge of the Wang family in Taiyuan brought the topic back, which relieved the embarrassment: "Taiyuan is very close to where Li Ji is currently stationed, and I am relatively well-informed about the news.
.That place is at the junction of Goguryeo, Baekje, and our Tang Dynasty. It has never been very peaceful. However, as our Tang Dynasty’s national power has become increasingly prosperous, it is temporarily comfortable there, but in the long run, it is still easy to repeat the same mistakes.”
"If a war breaks out, the prices of gold, silver, and iron tools will skyrocket. In addition to iron tools for personal use, if the gold and silver are transferred to Chang'an, it will be a huge profit. There are also livestock..."
"The land nearby will inevitably drop in price. If you can rent it, grab a handful and make a huge profit."
"You can sell horses from the Turks. In this way, if your Majesty forms a cavalry and trains your own horses, you can make several times the profit..."
Everyone shared their ideas with each other. At this time, everyone did not hide their secrets. Only when they were actually implemented did they see the true meaning.
Everyone was getting excited when suddenly a basin of cold water was poured down on them. It was Bolingcui and others who said, "What's the use of talking about this now? Have you forgotten the decree some time ago? All foreign-related transactions must go to the Foreign Affairs Bureau."
Report to the government, otherwise it is smuggling. Once smuggling is caught by the court, not only will the goods be confiscated, but also a large fine will have to be paid. If the fine cannot be paid, you will be imprisoned or your property will be confiscated. In your future business, you will be responsible for it.
Is it so easy to do?"
"What was done in the past is what will be done in the future. What difference does it make?"
"The difference——" Zhaojun's Li family thought of the difference, but he didn't say it.
Is there no difference? The segmented road construction plan formulated by Li Mu is the biggest blow to smuggling. When there were no good roads in the past, road transportation was inconvenient, and some businesses were in the hands of a few large families who could organize caravans, forming a
Monopoly is something that no one can do.
But if the roads are repaired, small family and local forces will definitely come to take a share of the pie. Who can prevent this?
At that time, there will be more monks and less meat, and smuggling will definitely not be popular. And for smuggling, you will definitely not dare to take the big road. If you take the small road as before, the cost will go up, and you will not be able to compete with the small merchants who take the big road. This is not making money.
, this is losing money!
Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ foreign-related purchases and sales must be in bulk. If you can buy goods without smuggling, who among you would still use smuggling? Isn’t this a self-contradictory thing?
Li Mu, Li Mu again!
Everyone was thinking about it, the New Year was coming soon, why not hurry up early and send some New Year goods to Mr. Hou?