Dou Yi did not answer him directly. He filled a glass of wine, picked up the glass and asked with a smile: "Have you ever participated in major political decisions?"
Du Guqiu smiled and said: "I'm afraid there is no decision-making, but His Highness the King of Jin did consult me in advance on many important political matters, such as the opening of Weiyang Palace. Originally, Weiyang Palace and Furong Garden were opened. I persuaded His Highness the King of Jin not to do too much with the people.
It will be underestimated by the people. Weiyang Palace is an old palace of the former dynasty and is usually directly demolished, but it doesn't matter if it is opened to the public.
But Furong Garden is a royal garden. Favor and power will make the people despise the imperial power. Over time, it will lead to people disobeying the government orders. A combination of kindness and power is a long-term solution. His Highness the King of Jin accepted my suggestion and only opened Weiyang Palace. Furong Garden may be opened in the future.
Open with restrictions.”
"What does restricted opening mean?" Dou Yi asked in confusion.
"It is only open to special groups of people, which should refer to officials of fifth rank and above. For example, my brother does not have an official position, but he has a title and can take his family for an outing."
“This is a good restriction!”
Dou Yi praised: "It not only won over the officials, but also did not ruin the royal gardens. When Emperor Ming was in power, several ministers put forward similar suggestions, but because Li Linfu firmly opposed it, they finally left it alone. In the end, it was different.
Is it easier for the Anshi rebels?"
"As for the attack on Mingzhou, I also proposed a step-by-step approach. Although His Highness the King of Jin did not give me a clear answer, the strategy he is adopting now is to proceed step by step."
Du Lingqiu said with a proud smile: "So my position as counselor is still meaningful, and I don't get a salary for nothing."
"Brother Xian, I can't say anything else. Entering the counselor's building does not represent you personally, but the interests of our entire Guanlong family. We are now like a phoenix in a state of poverty, not as good as a chicken, and a tiger that falls in peace and is bullied by a dog.
The manors in Guanzhong were gone, and so were the gardens and houses in Qujiang. After the emergence of Xi'anmen Street, the business in the East and West Markets was greatly reduced, and their incomes were seriously affected.
In the past, the children of the Guanlong family could not be seen in the Jin Dynasty until they were at least a school lieutenant and at least a seventh-rank official. Now there are no children of the Guanlong family in the Jin Dynasty, and there are only a handful of generals above the school lieutenant level in the army.
The fundamental reason for the decline is that the Guanlong family has lost its political status, and there is no one in the court to speak for us. My dear brother, everyone is counting on you to be elected to the counselor's office and speak for us, a group of run-down nobles."
Dou Yi said a lot in one breath. Du Lingqiu understood what he meant. He wanted to persuade him to strive for the prime ministership and become the representative of the Guanlong family, but it was difficult for him to do so!
Du Guqiu sighed slightly and said: "Even if I have this intention, but he is my son-in-law, I must consider avoiding suspicion. I think the position of counselor is the most suitable for me. I have disappointed my brother."
Dou Yi saw that he could not persuade Du Lingqiu, so he stood up and clapped his hands several times. The small door next door suddenly opened, and four or five people rushed in, including Zhao Guanshan, the head of the Zhao family, Hou Mo, Chen Sen, the head of the Chen family, and their eldest grandson.
The head of the family, Sun Tai, the head of the Daxi family, Da Xikuan and Dou Yuanzhu, etc., were stunned to see Du Lingqiu.
He finally came to his senses, pointed at Dou Yi and cursed with a smile: "You old monkey, you actually buried a swordsman next door, why don't you throw a cup as a sign?"
Dou Yi chuckled, "To deal with you, I have to use group fighting tactics!"
Everyone was not polite and sat down at the table directly and ordered the bartender to serve the wine. Zhao Guanshan caught Du Lingqiu and complained: "After the opening of Xi'anmen Street, the West Market is okay, but the number of customers in the East Market has been reduced by 40%.
Our shops are all in Dongshi, and we have suffered heavy losses now. Our Caibo shop, which has been run by the Zhao family for more than 80 years, is losing money for the first time. No, you have to transfer a shop on Xi'anmen Street to me."
Houmo Chensen also said: "Our shops in Chengdu are closed. The merchants have withdrawn north and the business cannot continue. The losses are too great. Brother Dugu, you have to help us. We hope to restore the manor in Guanzhong, otherwise
All we can do is sit back and eat."
Changsun Tai also grabbed Duduqiu and complained: "Our news was too late. Xi'anmen Street was repaired, and we knew that the shops had already been divided. Also, after the curfew and access control were lifted, the land outside the city increased sharply.
We wanted to buy it, but it was too late. The Du family, the Wei family, and the Hedong family all started in advance and made a lot of money. We used to be the first to get the news, but now we are no different from ordinary people in the market."
Da Xikuan also shouted: "I have a grandson who has served in the Jin army for two years and is still the brigade commander. This is simply too much. We have no say in the court. Brother Dugu must stand up."
It was only after these Guanlong families returned to Chang'an that they found that they had completely lost power. All their previous privileges had disappeared and their property had been severely damaged. This made them painfully understandable and regretful.
Only then did they deeply realize the importance of the Li Tang Dynasty to them. Their relationship with the Li Tang Dynasty was like skin and fur. Without the skin, how would the hair be attached?
If they had known that when the late emperor was in power, they should have fully supported and supported Li Tang to regain the world. Although it would cost a lot of money, at least their power would still be there, but now it is too late.
The Guanlong family had to face reality. The Southern Tang eunuch group was hostile to them, and the Zhusi dynasty was hostile to them. In contrast, only Guo Song was more tolerant to them, and they could only open up the situation with Guo Song.
.
Helping the Dugu family gain a place in the court has become the most practical operation at present, making the Dugu family the representative of the Guanlong family's power in the court.
Du Lingqiu was so noisy that he was dizzy. He waved his hands exaggeratedly, "Please stop arguing and listen to what I have to say!"
The room gradually became quiet, and Du Duqiu let out a long breath, "There are a few important things I have wanted to tell you for a long time, but I never had the chance, so I will tell you now."
He glanced at everyone and said: "First of all, don't think about restoring the manor in Guanzhong. That was Zhu Siqian's good deed, but the King of Jin was happy to see it happen.
Everyone, His Royal Highness the King of Jin has told me more than once that the fundamental reason for the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion and the decline of the Tang Dynasty today is that the Tang Dynasty did not stop land annexation, which led to today's negative consequences. The first thing he had to do was to severely crack down on land annexation.
, no matter whether it is Guanzhong or other places, no manor of more than fifty hectares will be allowed to appear in the future, including the land of his own manor, he has also allocated all the land to tenant farmers."
"What should we do without land?" Changsun Tai asked.
"Business!"
Du Guqiu said decisively: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin encourages everyone to engage in business, engage in factory manufacturing, encourage mine development, and encourage shipbuilding. In the future, your status and wealth can only be obtained from business."
Du Guqiu saw that everyone was silent, and said: "Why don't you understand? Even if we get the manor, who will farm the land for us? Farmers have their own land, and the extra farmers will go to the city to make money. In the future, the tenant farmers will become more
With less and less people coming, the rent will be lower and lower, and even if you don’t charge rent to others, you may not be able to find people, so it will become increasingly uneconomical for you to buy land, and you may even lose your capital.”
Da Xikuan sighed and said: "In any case, if someone in the court had spoken for us, my grandson would not have been a brigade commander even after serving in the army for two years."
"Da Xi, your grandson mainly has no military merit. What happened to us in the past? You should know very well that all the disciples first served as guards in the palace, and then joined the army after four or five years of qualifications. Then they all became captains.
That's it.
There is no such position as bodyguard now. If you have outstanding martial arts skills, I suggest you go to the martial arts hall and study for two years. After you graduate, you will be a brigade commander. With military merit, it will be easy to be promoted. Let me tell you, even the nephew of His Highness King Jin
I also studied in the martial arts hall, and now I am still working as a handyman. Now is the era where we rely on our skills and capital to make a living. Everyone quickly changes their minds and has money to invest. Our family's textile factory in Taiyuan already has 3,000 looms.
I am also planning to open a shipbuilding yard, and I am also planning to go to Anxi to buy land to grow cotton."
"Wait a minute!"
Dou Yi interrupted him and said, "Didn't you just say that we would severely crack down on land annexation?"
Du Guqiu chuckled, "In the Central Plains, we are cracking down on land annexation, but in the border areas, we are encouraging the purchase of land to grow wheat and cotton."
"What about labor?"
"If you ask local people to plant crops, or recruit them temporarily at high prices in the Central Plains, there will always be people who go. This kind of day labor is not like tenant farmers. Tenants have no hope, so they can't recruit people. But day laborers can make money, and there will be a lot of them.
People want to go.”
Dou Yi sighed and said: "Leave me 20 percent of the money, and I will join too!"
"We will also participate, and Brother Dugu will leave us a part."
Everyone was struggling to find a way out, but there were many opportunities in Dugu Qiu, so everyone thought of relying on the Dugu family to make money.
Du Lingqiu nodded, "I'm going to invest 300,000 yuan first, and then give 50% of the shares to everyone. Let's go to Anxi together. Maybe we can find a way out in Anxi."