Don't be a prince

Kong Yingda, who originally wanted to go boating and drink, could only wear official uniforms, and was "kidnapped" by Wei Zheng to the East Palace together with Fang Xuanling.

Because it was a formal visit, not a normal day, the three of them handed in invitations at the main entrance and waited for the prince to summon them.

Chapter 264

Because it was a formal meeting, after receiving the post, Li Chengqian specially ordered Dian Setu to send out a staff to greet him.

There is no way, the status of these three is there, and the proper etiquette cannot be lost.

"Fang Xiang, Wei Shizhong, Kong Shuzi, why did the three of you come together?"

Wearing the clothes of the prince, after the three saluted, Li Chengqian also returned the salute.

Fang Xuanling smiled slightly, and said: "Today coincides with the time for rest and bathing, and there is not too much business under Zhongshu's sect, so the three of us can have a good rest. We were planning to go boating, but who would have thought that Old Wei wanted to visit?" Your Highness, the two of us can only follow along."

Li Chengqian stretched out his hand to invite the three of them into the East Palace. Although he was smiling, his heart was still pounding.

It's too weird, if it's just a trivial matter, these three people would run into the East Palace at most, and tell him directly that there is no need to make a formal meeting, saying that it is not like business affairs, and they don't want to chat in private, I don't know what they are talking about fan.

As the place where the East Palace formally receives guests, the Mingde Hall is actually rarely used. However, the three of them made an official visit, and it was not grand enough to receive them in the study.Li Chengqian is really tired of these twists and turns of the ancients. The same thing, under the influence of different times, different places, different... and other variables, will have a variety of strange properties, which makes people very annoying.

After sitting down, Zhang Yun brought four pots of tea, then walked out of the hall and closed the door.

After taking a sip of tea, Fang Xuanling said with a smile: "Drinking it again and again, it's still the tea from the East Palace, which always surprises people. The tea is mixed with chrysanthemums. It's not only beautiful, but also a good thing to relieve fire. If Your Highness has many East Palaces, why don’t you give some to the humble officials?”

Li Chengqian smiled wryly in his heart, but he could only maintain a normal smile and cupped his hands and said: "President Fang will be offended if he says this. If you think there is anything in the East Palace that suits your needs, you can just come and get it. During this time, I will only rely on your help in government affairs." There are many more."

Kong Yingda said with a smile: "Since the old house is shameless, I don't want the minister, just rob the old house."

Looking at Fang Xuanling and Kong Yingda who were looking at each other and laughing, Li Chengqian's head was as big as a fight, and he became more and more confused. What are the three of them doing? They spoke so easily and called them casually, obviously chatting .These three people are free and come to the East Palace for vacation?If that's the case, then it's really nothing to do.

"Fang Xiang, Wei Shizhong, and Concubine Kong, the three of you are visiting the East Palace today, not just to ask for tea, you three are taking a rest, and there are still a lot of backlogs that need to be dealt with here."

As soon as these words came out, Fang Xuanling and Kong Yingda immediately put away their laughing expressions, and became clay bodhisattvas at the same time.

Seeing the expressions of the two of them, Li Chengqian shifted his gaze to Wei Zheng's face. It looked like what they said, they were brought by Wei Zheng to accompany him.

Wei Zheng coughed lightly, took out the memorial from his sleeve, and handed it to the crown prince himself.

"Your Highness, I came here today to know why my son was dethroned? Doesn't Your Highness know how terrifying it will be when the scourge looses its shackles?"

After looking through the memorial, I knew what Wei Zheng and the others were doing here today.

After inspecting a large number of noble industries, Wei Zheng came to the conclusion that the share of commercial tax should be increased, and it must be increased severely.After all, for Datang, there is nothing more dangerous than a large amount of wealth flowing into the noble family.Money touches people's hearts, Xungui has no shortage of power, now with money, the result of continuous accumulation is either to become a wealthy family with the same five surnames, or to rebel!

Having experienced too much, Wei Zheng did not hesitate to make people's thoughts a little uglier.Satisfaction with money will bring dissatisfaction with power.But for many nobles, there is nothing more coveted than the throne.The so-called aristocratic class are actually candidates for the throne. As long as the royal governance of the country collapses, they will be the ones who will rise up to fight again.

Li Chengqian was naturally aware of such a question, but when Wei Zheng asked it face to face, he didn't know why he should say it.

Holding Wei Zheng's memorial, after thinking for a long time, he said: "Fang Xiang, Wei Shizhong, Kong Shuzi, what I want to say next is related to the plan of the father and Gu for a long time in the future. If you three After learning about it, not only can’t disclose it to others, but also support Father and Gu as much as possible, you know?”

Seeing what the prince said, Fang Xuanling immediately had the idea of ​​running away.Damn Kong Yingda really guessed right, the emperor and the prince really have a plan in this matter!Is it so easy to inquire about what the emperor and the prince planned together?Should not have come today!

However, he clearly wanted to escape, but his body didn't move.curious!The plan that the crown prince and the emperor carried out together is really curious!

After pouring another cup of tea, the aroma of the tea that I enjoyed just now has all disappeared. The three of them all looked at Li Chengqian helplessly, waiting for the next words.

Seeing that the three of them had no intention of running away, Li Chengqian smiled slightly, stood up holding a teacup and said as he walked, "It's very simple. This time, the father is deliberately pampering the nobles. The Tang Dynasty has established itself in all battles, and the people have experienced too much. A lot of wars, whether it is agriculture or other things, need to recover slowly, and the same is true for commerce. Although it is said that doing business is cheap, but ah, it is commerce that promotes productivity, which is undeniable.”

After finishing speaking, Li Chengqian took out three pieces of silver from his pocket, gave one to each of them on the table, and asked, "What is this?"

Fang Xuanling said without thinking, "Silver."

Li Chengqian nodded and asked Kong Yingda: "What does Kong Shuzi think this is?"

Kong Yingda also said without thinking: "Fortune."

Before he could ask Wei Zheng, Wei Zheng cupped his hands and said, "It can also be regarded as copper coins, and it can also be regarded as gold. After all, the three are interlinked."

Li Chengqian smiled, swept all three pieces of silver to the ground, and said to the three puzzled people: "Actually, Fang Xiang's answer is correct. This is silver, which has nothing to do with wealth. The so-called Wealth depends on how much copper, silver, and gold a person owns? No, even if you don’t have any of these three things, but the house is full of jade, who dares to say that you don’t have money? Same, even if you don’t have any of these things, you still have no money. There are several warehouses of grain, who dares to say that Gu is a poor man? So, wealth, in fact, is what you have, not a one-sided representation of silver or gold.

Think about it, if you dig a hole in the ground and you can dig out silver, is this thing still worth money?It can only be like a stone, without even the heart to appreciate it.Therefore, copper coins, silver, and gold are all given value by us, and they have become the universal carrier of wealth. "

Fang Xuanling thought for a while, and found that what he said really made sense, but he still didn't understand what the crown prince wanted to express, so he could only arch his hands and ask: "Your Highness, the old minister has already understood what you said, but you obviously When talking about business, why do you mention this first?"

After returning to his seat, Li Chengqian continued: "I said this to let the three of you know that wealth cannot be generalized. Real wealth cannot be represented by things like copper coins. There are many things that can represent wealth. Grain, linen, wood, coal, etc., as long as it is useful, even stone, it is wealth. To make Datang rich, the development of productivity is the key. And productivity, precisely Only merchants can drive it. As long as production is encouraged, whoever cares what he produces, as long as there is something produced, it will create wealth. Individuals can become rich, which will lead to the prosperity of the country. How much food is produced blindly It is indeed the basis to measure wealth, but it is by no means comprehensive.”

Kong Yingda nodded. Although he was talking about practical things at this time, he didn't realize until today that there are such deep twists and turns in such a simple matter.

"The development of commerce needs to be driven by the Xungui family. It has to be admitted that only the Xungui family has the ability to initiate large-scale goods transactions. The East Palace mines and mines coal in Xiazhou, and the rich merchant Xungui's family in Chang'an even The common people have burns, and the miners who participated in the mining in Xiazhou also earned money, which is something that both parties are satisfied with. In this process, the East Palace has benefited, and the treasury has also benefited from it. It is a very simple matter. , but benefited all parties. The same is true for other industries, as long as there is demand, there will be four wins. And this is just the current situation. Three, think about it, when various industries are vying to appear, the court will continue to Change the taxation, adjust the business tax to an appropriate level, how much will the treasury earn? No need to charge more, only take one-tenth of the net profit!"

Fang Xuanling's hand shook, the teacup fell to the ground and shattered.

Kong Yingda trembled like chaff, Wei Zheng opened his mouth, but he couldn't speak.

It is foreseeable that the treasury will be enriched to an unimaginable extent.At that time, not to mention domestic construction, it is no big deal if the military is allowed to go to war while constructing!If the treasury has money, there will never be a situation where half of the troops are withdrawn, and there will be no situation where Goryeo clamors, but the court can only hold back its anger and intimidate verbally.

"However, all of this must be based on the fact that the food output is sufficient. People in the world don't even have enough stomachs. How can they have the energy to do these things? Once the situation of all people's business appears, it will be more terrible than natural disasters. , people who starve to death in good times will not be a minority, after all, agriculture is the root!"

Li Chengqian clapped his hands and said to Wei Zheng: "Wei Shizhong really hit the nail on the head. Yes, agriculture is the root. Because of this, improving agricultural production will be the top priority of the court in the next few years. What you don't know is At this time, Feng An probably led his troops to Linyi. The high-yield rice in Linyi, I really want to plant it in our Tang Dynasty. The north is not suitable. As long as the south is developed, the grain production can be increased. I don’t know. How much. The development of the South has always been the long-cherished wish of the Central Plains Dynasty, but none of them can be realized. To develop the South requires a lot of investment. To put it sadly, even the treasury cannot afford such an investment. of.

Because of this, it is necessary to mobilize the power of the whole people. When the development of the south can bring benefits to everyone, as long as the imperial court takes the lead, countless people will follow suit.After the increase in food production, commercial prosperity will no longer be a tree without roots or water without a source.When the commercial tax revenue of the treasury is enough to support consumption, is it worthwhile to collect food from the people?How much is food worth?At that time, I am afraid that collecting taxes from farmers will be a burden for the imperial court. Who is willing to bear the burden?In this way, there will be only one result, and the only result—no more taxes from peasants, only from merchants.I don't need to tell you what it will be like after the realization of no tax for farmers. "

Wei Zheng stood up suddenly, and even brought the chair down by him.

No tax for farmers?

These three words, when put together, are so sweet!As long as there is no tax for farmers, Wei Zheng will think that his life has not been in vain!Even if he lingers on the sick bed in the future, he will die laughing.

Fang Xuanling also stood up, no tax for farmers?Peasants no longer pay taxes. Such a dynasty will no longer have to worry about rebellion. It is only possible that the ruler collapses or foreign enemies invade to end the dynasty.But is it possible?

Kong Yingda was also so excited that she couldn't help herself. She put the teacup to her mouth several times, but she couldn't put it in the right place. Instead, she drenched her official uniform.

There is no tax for farmers, this is a scene that only appeared in the age of ancient sage kings.As long as this is achieved, the Great Tang Dynasty?Such titles are not enough to describe such a dynasty. It is foreseeable that not only the emperor and the prince, but also the officials who assist the government will live forever!

Three people, three reactions, all within Li Chengqian's expectation.

To be honest, when the emperor's father heard this passage, his reaction was no stronger than theirs.It was precisely because of this that Li Shimin let go of the shackles on Xungui's neck.Otherwise, it would be too late for him to suppress him, how could he do such a dangerous thing.Even if more of the new aristocrats were to let go of the restrictions, he would not be willing.Supporting the new nobles and replacing the old nobles must be carried out under their own control, how can they be allowed to be free.

Hearing the sound of the chair falling to the ground, Zhang Yun anxiously opened the hall door and took a look in. Seeing the strange situation, he had to close the door quickly and pretended not to see it.

"Your Highness will tell you all about His Majesty and your plan today. I'm afraid this old man is the help you are looking for. Now that the nobles have tasted the sweetness, when the tax rate is changed again, they will definitely mess around."

Fang Xuanling smiled wryly. There is no doubt that he is the helper hand-picked by the prince. He wants to pass the decree on changing the tax rate, especially the change of commercial tax from [-] in kind tax to [-] in [-] of net profit. This almost cut off the possibility of everyone playing tricks.But, how do you know whether the business tax paid by a person is correct?To put it bluntly, almost all nobles are doing tax evasion.

Fang Xuanling was about to ask a question, but Wei Zheng opened his mouth one step ahead of him: "Your Highness, you may not be thinking too simply, is it true that the imperial court still needs to thoroughly investigate the properties of merchants?"

Li Chengqian smiled slightly: "You are right. It is difficult to check the properties of merchants, but you have to do it. When the father comes back from Qizhou, he will expand the household department, rectify the tax system, and promote the recording of the loan law." At the same time, Gu is also planning to integrate the Eastern Palace and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and establish an organization called a bank. As long as there is a bank, the businessman's every move will not be able to cover up his traces."

It is foreseeable to rectify the taxation procedures, but the bank has attracted Fang Xuanling's attention, and he can't help but cup his hands and say, "Your Highness, what is the bank? Can you tell me about it?"

Looking at the sun outside, it was almost noon, so Li Chengqian said: "It's just time for lunch, why don't we just talk at the dinner table, if we want to talk about the bank, I'm afraid we won't be able to finish talking in a while, wait After lunch, why don't you three help Gu deal with some government affairs? Otherwise, Gu really has to stay up all night to deal with it."

The three naturally agreed and followed the prince to the Chongjiao Hall.

Li Chengqian was also very happy to catch three laborers, so he explained the role of the bank to them.

There is no bank in Datang, and neither did the previous money houses. It is ridiculous to say that the most lenders are local rogues, and the largest number and the most ruthless interest are actually Buddhism.The so-called "power of vows" handed in by believers immediately brought considerable income to the temple under the tumble of some monks' donkeys.

After knowing all this, Li Chengqian has a reason to associate the term "donkey rolling" in terms of interest with "bald donkey"...

Speaking of it, Li Chengqian admitted that he didn't have a deep study of the bank's methods, and he hoped to explore while doing it.But in any case, seeking profits from capital is the essence of business, and it is also the essence of banks. Even if the game fails, at least, it will not lose too much.

After the meal, government affairs are handled, and the four of them can do things together quickly, because Wei Zheng and Kong Yingda are both present, and the memorial basically only needs to go out of the East Palace, and after a cutscene under the door, it will be sent to Shangshu Province.

At the climax of the moon, the three people left the palace under the escort of Chang He.

The curfew in Chang'an is very strict at night, but no matter how strict it is, it is not as strict as these three.

After seeing these three, Marquis Wu, who was patrolling the street, not only did not interrogate them, but instead summoned his companions to escort them.

Stepping on the moonlight, Fang Xuanling breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Wei Zheng: "Today I really scared the old man. Whether it is farmers without tax or banks, it is all the prince's idea. I have waited for so many years for nothing." meal."

Wei Zheng also sighed and said: "In the past, this old man only thought that the crown prince was just a little smarter than his peers, but now it seems that he is really a monster!"

Kong Yingda laughed and said: "Now you know why old Li Gang claimed to teach the prince that his life would be shortened, but there is no need to be too surprised. The prince's magic is just that he does not stick to the old rules when thinking about things, and always finds a new way. From Haven't the two of you noticed it during the handling of government affairs during this period? His Royal Highness often shows lack of experience. Only with experience, such a prince is the most terrifying."

Chapter 265 The Tricky Point of Gaochang

After Kong Yingda finished speaking, the three of them were unwilling to say anything more.

With such a prince here, I don't know whether it is good or bad.There is always only one step between a genius and a lunatic. If the prince can do well, then the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty can be expected.And if the prince goes the wrong way, the consequences will be more terrible than the combination of three or five tyrants.

"Both of you, this time Wei Zheng owes you one time. How about I let the old man be the host for the next time you rest and take a bath?"

Fang Xuanling and Kong Yingda also thought it was worthwhile to treat the impoverished Wei Zheng. After bowing hands and saluting each other, they went home.

In the stillness of the night, many people had already fallen asleep, but in the study of the East Palace, Li Chengqian couldn't sleep.

The reorganized gunpowder weapon workshop has started large-scale production, at least, the pro-rate weapon base has been reached.

This time, each of the pro-leaders will have a quiver, a total of twenty gunpowder arrows. Such arrows are weak when facing iron armor, but they are also good for foreigners who lack iron armor. Lethality.Twenty palm-sized iron grenades are hung on the body together with the chain buckle. These are just personal configurations.

There are 2000 people in the army, and they are equipped with a total of two improved eight-ox crossbows. At the cost of sacrificing the size, the portability of the eight-ox crossbow is obtained. Six people and six horses, as long as the riding skills are not embarrassing, they can still be stable with ropes. transported.Two iron boxes the size of cabinets were filled with gunpowder, and the power of the explosion was unimaginable.Roughly estimated, blowing down a city gate is absolutely no problem.

Equipped with this kind of weapon, even if you can't beat the pro, no one will dare to chase after you run. If you dare to chase, you will be tortured to death.

Now that the configuration of weapons has reached the standard, it is time to send troops.

The troops were dispatched in mid-July, and by the time the team arrived at the border of Koryo, it was already a cold winter.If other armies do this, the bitter cold in Liaodong alone will lose troops and generals.But if you are close, because you have enough warm clothes and experience in heating, there will be no problems.

Tossing and turning? All night intermittently? I don’t know how long I slept. After the morning court, I came to the Weishui Barracks.

The current military barracks? It is farther away from the academy, because the reason for practicing the use of gunpowder weapons? You can only choose a place where there are no people.

The arrival of the prince made Yu Tai and others smile and line up to greet him with grinning mouths.

Did you just get off the carriage? Li Chengqian smiled and said to Tai and the others: "I know you are waiting, so I just came here today. Since you are already familiar with the characteristics of gunpowder weapons, let's set off tomorrow. When you go out this time, remember not to Love to fight? Tell you? If the loss exceeds [-]%, you will all be punished when you come back! After all, the primary purpose of this battle is to demonstrate the power of gunpowder weapons, and educating the Koreans is only secondary."

(Again, in the "Old Book of Tang"? Fang Xuanling called Goguryeo Goryeo. I don't know how many times I said it, why are people still entangled in this issue??)

Yu Tai laughed and said: "Can I use this kind of artifact first? It's because of His Highness's blessing. With this artifact, plus no worries about clothes? If we don't show some achievements, how can we repay His Highness's love? "

As soon as Yu Tai finished speaking, Chuan Tianhou and the others got up excitedly.Cotton produced in Gaochang? It is expensive in Chang'an? But His Highness not only prepared cotton-padded clothes, cotton trousers and cotton-padded shoes for them to keep out the cold, but also rewarded their families with a lot.Although the rewards are only enough for the family to make a thin cotton coat, it also prevents them from taking out the cotton in the clothes and distributing it to the family.

After inspecting one side of the warehouse and making sure that there were enough materials to protect against the cold, Li Chengqian said: "Tomorrow someone will deliver the weapons to you, and they will accompany the army throughout the process. Remember, everyone's weapons are recorded. If anyone loses them, And if it is not used in the battle, the responsibility will be shared. In this battle, testing the power of the weapon is also the key point, so there will be a large number of members of the Hundred Knights. What kind of place is the Hundred Knights? I don’t need to tell you alone. Just don't bother with them."

Iron Hammer and others nodded, even Liu Mang, who was born like a wild boar, would not dare to offend Baiqisi.

After handing over the documents of the Ministry of War to Yu Tai, Li Chengqian left the barracks.

Although I really want to go to the border of Koryo with my family, but I just think about it.He is one of the most important people in the city of Chang'an without the emperor's father. Even if the emperor's father is at home, with the lessons learned from the grassland, he may not have the chance to fight.

After leaving the barracks, passing through the college, and deliberately going to Li Gang's grave to burn incense, Li Chengqian entered the medical branch.

Although the current branch of medicine is nominally affiliated with Zhenguan students, it is actually Sun Simiao's school here.Donggong will go to the medical school to make up funds every month, and some people in the Taoist school, headed by Yuan Tiangang, will also send money here.Without worrying about funds, Sun Simiao sent a letter to the world without hesitation, and summoned a large number of ghosts and monsters. What he wanted was to integrate all the folk remedies in the world, and after the experiment, they integrated them into a reliable medical book.

When he saw Lao Sun, he was writing drafts in his study, earnestly recording the results of the experiment and analyzing the properties of the medicine. Now, he has accumulated a full box of the same drafts.

Seeing Li Chengqian coming in, Sun Simiao smiled slightly and said, "It's rare, you actually have time to visit the old Taoist today."

Li Chengqian just found a stool and sat down. Li Chengqian said with a smile: "I just knocked on the door. Seeing that you didn't respond, I came in on my own initiative. Old Sun, you are a doctor yourself, why don't you know how to take care of your body? You forget to eat and sleep like this." work, be careful to wear yourself down first.”

The reason for saying this is that there are already cold meals on Lao Sun's table, and there is still a strong smell of plaster on his body.

Sun Simiao sighed, seeing that his disciple brought in new food, he put down his pen and started to eat.

While eating, he said: "Old Taoist, my lifelong wish is to overcome all kinds of difficult and miscellaneous diseases. The first is to sort out the world's medical books, remove the dross, and preserve the essence. Your Highness may not know that folk doctors often use They are all folk remedies, and there is no medical reason at all. To put it bluntly, it is possible that such a prescription will put a person with no serious illness to death. The people are ignorant, and many times they are grateful to the real murderer. No way. Medical skills should be bound by strict rules, otherwise who knows what will happen.”

Li Chengqian nodded. That's true. Folk remedies can really kill people. Since Lao Sun has such an idea, he should support it.

"Since the Taoist priest has such an idea, Gu will naturally support it. How about this? People who practice medicine in the future must obtain a medical license from the imperial court before they can diagnose and treat patients, otherwise it will be illegal."

In ancient times, copying modern rules and regulations for many things would have miraculous effects.Regarding the matter of the medical license, Li Chengqian almost admired himself to death.

But Sun Simiao shook his head and said, "No way, if you want to do this, it would be the most terrifying thing for so many doctors to change their diagnosis and treatment from public to private. There are few doctors in the first place. If you do this, will anyone dare to practice medicine? So Ah, this proposal is very good, but we can't rush it, it won't be too late when the experienced medical school has trained enough disciples."

"Is that so..."

Li Chengqian had no choice but to give up, as the old Taoist said, perhaps there was really no rush for this matter.

After eating, Sun Simiao took out a small pillow for pulse diagnosis and motioned Li Chengqian to stretch out his hand.

This is a procedure that two people have to go through every time they meet. Although Li Chengqian thinks that he is in good health, he can't beat the old grandson.

After checking the pulse and checking the legs, Sun Simiao said: "You are in good health. Although the legs have not really grown well here, it is estimated that there will be some problems in the later years. The anger is a bit strong, control your emotions, and don't get angry casually. You know, your Li family usually suffers from wind disease, and you can't escape even if you come to your place, now that you are young, you should pay more attention."

Although I really want to cultivate my body and mind, it's really hard not to get angry in Jian Guo now.

Coming out of Lao Sun's place and looking at the sun, Li Chengqian decided to go to the college for lunch, and then discuss the students' problems with Mr. Yang.