Beside the writing desk, Li Mu sat on a rocking chair, looked at Tang Guan who was holding a pen, and said, "Write, why don't you write?"
"Oh oh oh..." Tang Guan nodded quickly and wrote down what Li Mu just said on the paper. At the front of the paper, there was a 'title', which read, 'There is only one truth. Approaching Zhulu Marquis Li Mu's
inner world'.
Li Mu sighed, shook the rocking chair, and continued: "Wang Pu came to me that day and talked about the many problems encountered by Datang Mining. I didn't want to care about it at first, but I was seriously injured and had not recovered, and everyone knew that,
I, Li Mu, am the son of the common people, and I am not from the same family as them. If it were not for the sake of the country, how could I associate with them?"
"An Neng bows down to the rich and powerful, which makes me unhappy. These words are still in my ears, how can I forget them?" Li Mu's voice was full of emotion. Seeing that Tang Guan was in a daze, he glared and said: "Write it! Damn it, that's what I said.
Is it fake?"
"Really, really..." Tang Guan quickly lowered his head and wrote again.
"However, mining is the foundation of the country. If mining does not flourish, the fuel, utensils, plowshares, tools, etc. that the people need for life will not be available. Therefore, although I do not want to be associated with the clan, I still endure it and work for them.
Got an idea."
Li Mu let out a long sigh and said: "The road must be built. However, after years of fighting, the national treasury is empty. Thousands of miles of rivers and mountains are devastated. The people are in poverty and have no hope of living. At this time of crisis, how can I bear to advise His Majesty,
How about expropriating the labor of the people and causing them further suffering?"
"I had no choice but to rack my brains and come up with a compromise. First use the money and food from the family to build the road, and then collect toll subsidies. This can be done in one fell swoop. First, the people do not have to do corvee work, and secondly, it reduces the expenditure of the court.
, the third time, the road is built, which can also solve the crisis of Datang Mining." Li Mu glanced at Tang Guan and said, "Have you finished writing?"
"It's finished."
"Add a note in front. When Zhuluhou said this sentence, he let out a long sigh."
"Oh oh oh..." Tang Guan was stunned for a moment, then understood what Li Mu meant, and invented punctuation without any teacher's knowledge.
Li Mu continued: "However, I am still too young. I judge others with the greatest kindness, but others respond with the greatest malice. With a selfless heart, I plan for the court, benefit the people, and solve problems for the clan. The whole thing
I didn’t get half of the benefits from this incident, and I never thought about getting half of the benefits. But in the end, I was falsely accused of ‘complicity, giving and receiving in private, and stealing national wealth’!”
"Ugh! It's unjust!" Li Mu sighed twice and said: "I never thought that one day I would be so infamous. This is a huge insult to me. I beg you to think about it carefully. Am I, Li Mu, short of money?
"
Tang Guan felt that he couldn't write any more. He was just writing a tragic song. Why did he suddenly start to show off?
"How much money can I earn from building a road? Is it worth it for me, Li Mu, to plan? To commit adultery? To give and receive privately?"
"Oh! It's painful!" Li Mu came to Tang Guan and looked at him as he continued to write: "The world slanders me, not just one day or two. I can bear it, but this time, I really can't bear it. In order to show everyone
Prove that I, Li Mu, really do not need to give or receive privately. I have decided to spend money to rebuild all the lanes in Chang'an to truly benefit the people of Chang'an. Although preliminary calculations suggest that at least one hundred thousand guan will be needed, it does not matter, as long as it can be proven
My innocence, one hundred thousand dollars, I am out of it!"
Tang Guan was so frightened that his hands trembled. He looked up at Li Mu and said, "Big brother, one hundred thousand coins..."
"Write!"
"Oh." Tang Guan wrote the word 'one hundred thousand', his hands trembling.
"My dear people of the Tang Dynasty, Zhuluhou's words will always count. You will soon see the craftsmen repairing the lanes. All the expenses will be paid by the Zhuluhou Mansion without any need from the court. When the road is repaired, I will take it.
One hundred thousand coins, public carriage and horse depots will be set up in the eight directions of Chang'an, east, west, north, south, southeast, northeast, southwest, northwest. Then everyone can travel by car. Everything promised will be completed by me, Zhulu Hou Li Mu."
"Finally, the eyes of the people are sharp. Who is a good person and who is a bad person can be clearly seen from the things he does. I will not defend myself, the world's people will prove it for me!"
After Tang Guan finished writing the last sentence, he couldn't help but ask: "Brother, why bother so much? Let's find a few people to arrest Wang Jingze and beat him up so that he doesn't dare to say anything again."
"Fart!" Li Mu glared angrily: "Confucius said, Conquer people with virtue. If you beat them at every turn, are you a rogue?"
"Ah?" Tang Guan said blankly: "Brother, you, don't you always feed people feces...?"
Li Mu blushed slightly and said: "That was before, but not anymore. Your eldest brother, I will take the top exam next year, and now I am full of poetry and calligraphy. Don't talk to me about fighting and killing. I am a scholar."
"..." Tang Guan closed his mouth tightly. He was afraid that if he opened it a little, he would burst into laughter.
Li Mu ignored him and took the "interview" that Tang Guan had transcribed and read it over. He pointed out a few details that needed to be revised and asked Tang Guan to take it back and polish it and publish it in the newspaper tomorrow.
Just after sending Tang Guan away, Zhao Youcai, the gatekeeper in the front yard, came to report again and Wang Pu asked to see him.
"Tell him to get out of here!" Li Mu yelled: "Tell him, if you can't make friends, if you don't do things like this, if something happens, you'll use me as your backstop. I'm your back-up? Kick me out!"
Zhao Youcai responded and ran back after a while.
Li Mu was about to change clothes and go to Jingdong Market. When he saw Zhao Youcai running endlessly, he said displeasedly: "Who is coming again?"
"Uncle Guo is here."
Changsun Wuji had no choice but to give him face, so Li Mu had no choice but to button up his buttons again and went to the front lobby to greet him.
"Marquis Zhulu, I'm here to disturb you."
"Uncle Guo, if you can come to my mansion, it will definitely be a blessing to me." Li Mu motioned to the eldest grandson Wuji to sit down, served tea, and sat beside him.
"I don't know if my uncle is here today, but he has something to do?"
"There's something." Changsun Wuji said straight to the point: "Have you heard about the impeachment of you by Prime Minister Wang Jingze?"
Li Mu quickly waved his hands and said: "Sorry! If you sit at home, your reputation will rise from the sky. Uncle Guo, you know my situation. I want money, but I don't want to be an official. Why am I colluding with them? This is good.
, for Wang Jingze to say this, he is like a traitor. I am very angry, to be honest, I feel that my illness is getting serious again, and it seems that I can't do anything these days."
The speaker has a heart, and the listener also has a heart. Changsun Wuji is a smart man. From Li Mu's few words, he has already heard that Li Mu seems to be angry and wants to let go of the road construction matter.
!
This is not possible!
"Li Mu, we are not outsiders. To be honest, I came to you this time because Longyou also needs to build a road."
"Ah..." Li Mu suddenly realized, blinked his eyes, and said: "Xiubai, considering the relationship between the uncle and your majesty, this is not a trivial matter. Ask the Ministry of Civil Affairs to allocate money for food, and let's get started!"
"The national treasury is empty, and you don't know where to find the money to build roads."
"That's easy to handle. I have money in the internal funds and a dozen or two hundred thousand guan. If I take them all, I can support it for a while. But I have to tell His Majesty about this matter. Even if I add it to the internal funds,
But it is just an internal fund order to make money for Your Majesty, and the money spent is not under my control."
Changsun Wuji saw that Li Mu was just going around in circles and not talking to each other. Although he was unhappy, he had no choice but to say: "My idea is to share your worries."
"Okay!" Li Mu slapped his thigh and said, "I personally contributed 50,000 yuan, and I will be considered as a sponsor! Just because of my uncle's face!"
Changsun Wuji had veins popping up on his forehead, and he couldn't hold it back any longer. Before meeting Li Mu, he thought his Qi nourishing skills were pretty good. Not only among his peers, but also among older people, he was the best
Able to keep calm.
But when meeting this guy Li Mu, all the 20 years of cultivating Qi-nurturing skills were in vain. This kid has the ability to annoy people anytime and anywhere!
"I don't need your 50,000 yuan. Let's just say it! We also want to build a road, just like the Wang family in Taiyuan. The Wang family in Taiyuan takes food, and we also have food. How he collects tolls, we also collect, that's fine.
Not more than him, but not less than him."
Li Mu's face gradually darkened, and he said expressionlessly: "Uncle Guo is forcing me. Now I have been called a traitor. You still ask me to help you plan. I want to ask Uncle Guo, what am I trying to do?
Huh? People say that one gains wisdom after suffering a loss. I have already suffered a loss at the hands of the Wang family in Taiyuan. Wouldn’t I be a fool if I suffer another loss? Or does the uncle think that if I suffer a loss from the Wang family in Taiyuan, I should suffer the consequences of my eldest grandson?
Is it your fault? If you think so, then I can only see you off."
Changsun Wuji did not expect that Li Mu would say so directly. He thought that even if Li Mu refused, he would decline politely. Who would have thought that this boy would not give him face?
But then I thought about it, there is nothing wrong with not giving face. If it were me, I would definitely not give face.
Changsun Wuji took a deep breath, softened his tone, and said: "Li Mu, you have misunderstood. I am here to discuss it with you. We are relatives. You have joined the clan, and you belong to the same clan as the prince and the king of Yue. I
He is the prince's biological uncle, so you should call me uncle."
"It's okay to call me uncle, but as an uncle, you can't push your nephew into the fire pit." Li Mu said angrily: "Because of the Wang family road in Taiyuan, His Majesty has already reprimanded me, and I have already suffered the consequences of being dumb.
.I thought, I should be honest these days and hide from the limelight. Who would have thought that the Wang family in Taiyuan would be so incompetent that a Wang Jingze would appear! How can I not be angry? Now I can't vent my anger, and I have to burn incense.
I pray to Buddha that nothing will happen to Wang Jingze. If he gets beaten, it will be me who beat him if not me. What will happen to my reputation?"
Changsun Wuji thought to himself, you still know that you have a bad reputation. But these words must not be said now. He selectively filtered out these words and continued to think about himself: "As an uncle, I have to talk to you.
Let’s be sincere. Li Mu, do you know the difference between nobles and nobles?”
"I don't know."
"The nobles are the nobles of the Tang Dynasty. The glory of the nobles and even everything comes from the Tang Dynasty, from His Majesty. But the families are different, and the dynasties change, the families are still the nobles. What does this mean? The nobles are loyal to the country and the emperor.
Your Majesty, the nobles only care about themselves."
Li Mu nodded blankly, what he said made sense.
"You are still young and have been deceived by the Taiyuan Wang family. You gave them such an idea and took advantage of them, and you are still in trouble. It would be fine if this matter ended here, but it happened to go through Wang Jingze
Everyone in the court knows about this commotion. Do you know the consequences of this?"
Li Mu already knew what Changsun Wuji was going to say, but he still cooperated with the acting and said, "What do you mean?"
"The honorable nobles have made great contributions to the court. Naturally, we think in our hearts that as honorable nobles, we share weal and woe with the country. If the benefits are not available to the clan but the honorable nobles get them, nothing will happen. Because the nobles also know that the honorable nobles have meritorious services.
, they can't compare. But if the noble family gets it but the honorable noble doesn't, think about it, how does the distinguished noble feel?"
Li Mu guessed: "Unjust?"
"Of course!" Changsun Wuji nodded heavily and said: "I have just told you the difference between a clan and a noble. A clan can never be of the same mind as the court. A noble must be loyal to the court. If this matter causes a noble to alienate him,
, it is an irreversible matter for the court and your Majesty. The matter is not about the amount of benefit, but about the unevenness."
"That's it." Li Mu said with a look of sudden realization, "I'm still too young."
"It doesn't matter. After this experience, you will understand and you won't make this mistake next time." Changsun Wuji said with a smile: "What about this?"
Li Mu said: "Uncle Guo, my old uncle, my good uncle, you are making me so confused! You are forcing me so much, how should I explain to His Majesty, how to explain to the people!"
Seeing that there was a way out, Changsun Wuji quickly complimented him and said, "You can think of a way. You are always full of wits and tricks, can you be troubled by trivial matters?"
"Well..." Li Mu pondered for a while and said: "But it's not impossible, it's just that this method requires the cooperation of the Taiyuan Wang family."
Changsun Wuji's eyes lit up and he asked: "How to cooperate?"
Li Mu came closer to Changsun Wuji and said: "Now the Wang family in Taiyuan is the target of public criticism, because everyone thinks that he built roads to make money. If he wants to solve this problem, he needs to prove that he built roads not to make money, but just to make money.
It’s just to get back the money. But everyone knows that building roads will definitely make money. So how to solve it?”
"Yes, how to prove it yourself?"
"This comes down to what Wang Jingze said."
"Which sentence?"
"Since building roads does not make money, why not share it ten times and let everyone donate generously together. As long as the Taiyuan Wang family is willing to vomit this and share it, it can prove that he is not trying to take advantage. Then everyone will build the road together and share the profits.
It’s not a bad thing.”
Changsun Wuji frowned and said: "But there is another problem. If you want to make a profit from road construction, it will be very slow to get back the cost. If several companies cooperate, the benefits will be too meager, right?"
"Build two more roads." Li Mu said with a smile: "Two companies build two roads, and three companies build three roads. In the end, it's still one road per road. The only difference is that each road is decided by two or three companies, and the profit is still the same.