Fu Tang

When Zhao Kuangyin saw the envoy sent by Hue Khan to arrest him, he was at a loss. He was afraid that the Uighurs in Ganzhou would find trouble for him, so there was no shortage of offerings recently, but Hue Why did Khan still turn his face?

But soon he knew the reason - it is said that he wanted to plot against.

Zhao Kuangyin was laughed out of anger. If he wanted to seek rebellion, he would not be able to easily use troops against Zhou Guo. In any case, Zhou Guo was the country he grew up in. Zhao Kuangyin himself was also bearing a huge burden when he sounded the horn of attack on this country. pressurized.

But just like Li Congjia, he is not willing to just nest in the wild land in the northwest like this, and he and Zhou Guo are now in conflict, it is impossible to surrender, they can only fight, and at this time, Hue Khan is in trouble, is it possible? Do you want a praying mantis to catch the cicada, with the oriole behind?

It is impossible for Zhao Kuangyin to follow the envoy so easily, and the charges of treason have all come down. Once he enters Zendan, don't even think about coming out in one piece.

As for the person who the messenger said had all the evidence, Zhao Kuangyin was not stupid, and he knew that he had been blamed when he thought about it. Of course, he didn't know who was responsible for the blame, but it was very likely that it was Suzhou. The state has just experienced a war, and it is time to recuperate, so it will not easily send troops.

But Li Congjia has always regarded the Ganzhou Uighurs as a thorn in his side, and he couldn't do it himself, so he naturally tried to use a knife to kill people.Zhao Kuangyin had no choice but to scold his mother. Li Congjia played so beautifully, and Zhao Kuangyin was so busy recently that he didn't think too much about Suzhou. Can you make trouble for him?

However, these are all Zhao Kuangyin's inferences. Even if he told Hue Khan, Hue Khan might not believe it, or maybe Luo Ge Renyu wanted to take this opportunity to win him, so Zhao Kuangyin simply said Cut off the messenger's head.

When Li Congjia got the news, he smiled and said to Han Xizai, "Han Yu is worthy of being a strategist, and Zhao Kuangyin is already in a dead end."

Han Xizai smiled very reservedly. He was very satisfied with his son. Although Han Yu's current official position is not high, as long as he comes back, there will definitely be a job waiting for him. What's more, it is his age that restricts Han Yu's official position. What else is there to be afraid of in the emperor's heart?

Li Congjia put down the news, pondered and said: "The autumn harvest is over, how is the food and grass prepared?"

Tian Wen immediately came out and said: "The grain and grass have been put into storage, but... if the army wants to march north, I'm afraid it can only last for two months."

Li Congjia was a little helpless, but this was expected. The most important thing is that Zhao Kuangyin is now at war with Zhou Guo, and their caravans cannot continue to do business with the Northern Han Dynasty. In addition, Zhao Kuangyin probably has already realized that it is him. Playing tricks behind the scenes, Suzhou's caravans were too risky in the past. As a result, Li Congjia's income suddenly dropped a lot. In addition, the past few years have been considered endless wars, and Suzhou's treasury is almost ready to run away. !

When Li Congjia got the treasure back then, he thought he had made a fortune, but now he knows that it is impossible for a country to rely on those gold, silver and jewels for support.

The most important thing is that there are not many lands that can be cultivated in Suzhou, and the land near Kunlun Mountain is actually the land that receives the most grain in various places, but there is limited land there.

When Li Congjia was having a headache, Yang Xin ran up and said, "The caravan came back a few days ago, and I asked them to bring silkworms and mulberry trees."

Li Congjia froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up, yes, why didn't he think of that before?The Western Regions and even further west are very fond of silk and ceramics. They cannot do business with the Central Plains, so they can continue to sell westward.

Mulberry trees do not have very high requirements for the growing environment. At least they can be grown in the Western Regions. However, the technology of silkworm breeding and weaving is not very developed in the Western Regions. However, Li Congjia has many women from the Southern Tang Dynasty. Very familiar with this thing.

Li Congjia hurriedly called the cabinet and Tian Wen over to discuss taxes. In the past, when he was in the south, even planting mulberry trees had to be taxed. Li Congjia hurriedly abolished this. Now it is too late to promote it. Taxes are still collected. Li Congjia is not particularly short of money. Now that the internal treasury is separated from the national treasury, Li Congjia himself is considered a half-hearted person, and he is not very interested in all kinds of luxury enjoyment. After leaving some of the previous treasures, the rest is full. in the treasury.

He wasn't afraid of running out of money, after all, businesses and restaurants were his private property.

Not only is there no tax for planting trees, but some preferential treatment will be given. As for the silkworm cocoons that are raised by the imperial court, there is no tax for the purchase, but the price will not be very high. If it is sold, it will naturally be taxed, but the tax rate is set. Not high.

Li Congjia only grasped a general direction for these matters, and left the rest to the people below to discuss. After all, he didn't study economics, and he didn't even know what taxes ordinary people had to pay!

After handing it over to them, Li Congjia regretfully found that there was probably no way to make porcelain. After all, the soil quality here was not suitable, and tea was not good. Silk was the only thing that the West liked.

But no matter what, Yang Xin was really clever and found such a way of making money.

Li Congjia said with a smile: "You have done me a great favor, tell me, what reward do you want?"

Yang Xin rubbed his hands and said, "That...Your Highness, Mr. Lang...can you let Wu Niang pass through the door earlier."

Li Congjia immediately smiled and said, "That's fine, now that there is no more fighting, and it's peaceful, it's time for you to have a happy event."

Yang Xin's eyes lit up: "Then... is my master coming? Last time I asked the master, the master said that he is a monk, and it is unlucky to appear at the wedding. I don't know where it is, but no matter what I say, Master will not let go, so please help me persuade me."

Li Congjia pointed at Yang Xin with his index finger and said with a smile: "Okay, you still need me, okay, well, I will ask the queen mother or queen to set a date with Tian's family later, and you will be the groom's official." Bar."

Yang Xin said happily in an instant: "Thank you, Your Highness!"

Yang Xin originally thought that Li Congjia's attendance at his wedding would have given him a lot of face, but he never expected that Li Congjia would actually decide for him!In this way, even if Yang Xin's relatives are gone, the wedding will not be ugly.

Li Congjia saw that Yang Xin was almost bouncing around, and he was envious of him for a while. According to his age, this body is only four years older than Yang Xin, but because of his status, he can no longer do such childish movements. up.

After Yang Xin left, Li Congjia thought about it, and wrote an edict. Of course, this edict must go through the cabinet before it can be issued. However, although this edict has not been discussed with the cabinet, they should not have much objection—— This is the edict to confer Shi Xueting as the national teacher.

The official title is Master of Protecting the Country. Li Congjia felt that Shi Xueting's contribution deserved the title of Master of Protecting the Country. After all, since arriving in the Western Regions, before Li Hongji came, Shi Xueting led the team to fight everywhere. Even if Li Hongji came later, Shi Xueting led Tiance Mansion and made great contributions.

Li Ping, Zhu Yuan, and even low-ranking officers were given various rewards for their achievements. Even Li Hongji, Li Congjia couldn't give him more for his position, and would give him a lot of gold, silver and jewelry. After all, he also had a wife and children to support.

Only Shi Xueting, except for the temple that Anning City built for him, Li Congjia has never rewarded him with anything. Thinking of this, Li Congjia felt very guilty.

He won't think that he is a king so he should ask others to dedicate to him. What's more, even if he is kind to Shi Xueting, Shi Xueting has already repaid it. On the contrary, after so many years, Li Congjia owes Shi Xueting again. There are many courts.

Thinking of this, Li Congjia became more determined in his mind.

The cabinet's reaction to Li Congjia's proposal to confer Shi Xueting as the national teacher was not strong. The only thing that made them object was the matter of building a temple in the palace.

Han Xizai said earnestly: "Your Highness, today is different from the past. You are now a role model for the people of the world. You must be cautious in everything you do. Building a temple in the palace is equivalent to establishing a state religion. Guo Rong exterminated Buddha, aren't you?" I don’t know, but now Suzhou has a strong atmosphere of worshiping Buddhism, which has caused a lot of inconvenience.”

Li Congjia nodded and said: "This is what we will do next. We don't have to go too far like Guo Rong, but the temple must be thoroughly investigated. We can't let all the strong men become monks. This is of no benefit, so we must also strictly investigate the degree. It’s just that if this matter is done by the imperial court, there will definitely be opposition from the people, so it’s better to let the national teacher go, the national teacher’s reputation is now very high, and he is a Buddhist disciple, so there is always room for change, dear friends, how do you think about this?”

Xiao Yan said helplessly: "It's good to let the national teacher come out, but this...to build a temple..."

Li Congjia waved his hand and said, "Don't think too much about it. It's not that I want to build a temple, but that there is a temple in this palace. I just want to repair it and let the national teacher live in it. It will cost less than finding a place to build a big temple for him, right? Otherwise, if you are looking for a place outside, you will always have to be near Jiuquan. Besides, it is also the residence of the national teacher, and it is too stingy to build him. It is not worthy of his status, is it? ?”

Cabinet Assistant Minister: Reasonable and well-founded, obey!

When Li Congjia saw their reactions, he knew that they were worried about a state religion that could not be governed by the imperial court, so he thought for a while and said: "The ancestor of my Li family was Lao Tzu. There was a Taoist temple in the palace back then. It is enough to build a Taoist temple, but there are no serious Taoist priests in the Western Regions, so forget it, anyway, I am a descendant of Taoism.”

Use Taoism to restrain Buddhism?This is possible, everyone was slightly relieved, knowing that Li Congjia did not lose his head because of his favor and trust in Shi Xueting.

In fact, they don't need to worry at all. Although Shi Xueting is a monk, he has never instilled Buddhist ideas in Li Congjia, and he has not even mentioned the differences in life between him and Li Congjia. identity to do it.

As far as Li Congjia is concerned, this kind of religious believer is the one he wants, but he also knows that Shi Xueting, a believer, is actually... not that pure. Any religion has its offensive, but some are gentle and gradual, Some resort to drastic means.

Of course, Li Congjia wants to draw a place to build a Taoist temple, mainly because he wants to allocate a place. Some people think that his harem is very large and empty, and he wants to fill in people. Who cares if he is willing to guard a "queen"?

Xu Xuan didn't object to building the temple at this time, but said: "The national teacher is a Buddhist, and the temple doesn't have to be too luxurious."

Oh, and I started to worry about Li Congjia spending a lot of money on repairs. Li Congjia rolled his eyes in his heart, but said: "It's just a little tidying up, but it can't be too bad. After all, it's in the palace, but you don't have to worry about it. This money will go from the internal treasury, not the national treasury."

The corners of Zhou Zong and the others twitched slightly. How could they have forgotten that if the national treasury hadn't been subsidized by Li Congjia, it would not even be as full as Li Congjia's internal treasury?

At this point, it's hard for everyone to object, so Zhou Zong had no choice but to say: "Even though the national teacher is a Buddhist, he is also a foreigner, so it is better to have a distance from the harem?"

Li Congjia said happily: "It should be so."

Secret matters are the most difficult to refute. If someone dislikes Shi Xueting and wants to use this to criticize him, then Li Congjia will have no other choice but to disclose their relationship.

But the Lord of a country got together with the teacher of the country... It's hard to say, even if it is something that everyone knows well in the future, it must not be put on the table. At this time, he is somewhat grateful to Zhou Zong.

Since he thanked Zhou Zong, Li Congjia decided to give him something in return.

So he opened his mouth and changed the subject directly: "The prince is already four years old this year. At the age when he should be enlightened, I intend to educate him myself. I still need to find a decent teacher for him."

When Li Congjia said this, the eyes of the ministers in the cabinet lit up, oh, except for one person, that is Zhou Zong.

Zhou Zong knew in his heart that he, as the queen's father, the prince's grandfather, and the prince's grand teacher, would probably appear only when he was given a posthumous gift. A serious teacher would not choose him, but the few remaining people had a good chance.

Strictly speaking, the cabinet ministers are basically well-known in the literary world. Whether it is Han Xizai or Xu Xuan, they can be reused by Li Jing who likes poetry, and their literary quality lies there.

In this regard, Xiao Yan is weaker. His strength lies not in literature, but in judging cases.

However, Li Congjia wants to cultivate a qualified heir. With Shi Xueting, he thinks that he will probably never have his own children in this life, so Li Zhongyu's education is the most important thing. Li Congjia does not want to educate a subjugated child. Jun is the Emperor of Ci, so only one of Han Xizai and Xu Xuan can take the position, and Xiao Yan must have his position.

Li Congjia also thought about it for a while and compared Han Xizai and Xu Xuan. However, Xu Xuan's younger brother Xu Kai is already in charge of the imperial examination affairs in the Ministry of Rites, which is considered a relatively powerful department. Han Xizai is not young now, and he has not yet The retreat is probably to support his son until he is in his early years.

Li Congjia also felt a little sorry for him, who had to run around for his children and grandchildren at an early age, so he directly made Han Xizai the prince and tutor, and Xiao Yan as the prince and tutor.

These two positions are occupied, but there is still a prince and a grand protector. Is their highness going to vacate this position?

Li Congjia didn't intend to be free, he hesitated for a while and said: "Let the prince Taibao be given to the national teacher."

Everyone was shocked, and Li Congjia said: "If you want to compete in the Central Plains, the prince must not know about military affairs. Even if everything goes well in my life, I dare not say that I will be able to return to the Central Plains in my whole life. If I spend my whole life, I may not be able to do it." Now, it's up to the prince."

This reason...is quite normal, but isn't your appointment a bit too childish?I originally thought it was a tacit agreement among everyone not to let Shi Xueting enter the rank of court officials. Are you trying to break this tacit agreement?

Li Congjia looked at the different expressions on everyone's faces, and didn't explain too much. He knew that these old foxes could figure it out.

Yes, the Crown Prince Taibao is also an official of the imperial court. However, this position has no real power other than being the prince's teacher. Even when the prince is so young, he has no access to important affairs of the court. It's no different than it used to be.

In this regard, Li Congjia has to go to persuade Shi Xueting, this is the most suitable position he can find for Shi Xueting, this is also for Shi Xueting and Li Zhongyu to cultivate a relationship, he does not want to see his prince in the future treat each other His national teacher is very picky, who will he deal with when the time comes?

It's better to lay the emotional foundation from the very beginning, Li Congjia believes in Shi Xueting's personal charm.

Xu Xuan looked at Li Congjia eagerly. Although the three masters of the prince had people, how about the third son of the prince?

However, to his disappointment, Li Congjia did not intend to teach the third young master. The crown prince needs teachers, but too many teachers are not good, and too many teachers of the same type are useless. It is a pity that he has no What kind of talent in mathematics, physics and chemistry, otherwise he will definitely be hired as a teacher. If there is no other way, Li Congjia can only do it by himself.

After all, even if his mathematics, physics and chemistry are only at the high school level, he can probably completely abuse most people. Of course, the top ones are fine, but his son only needs to know a little about these things, and there is no need to study them specially.

It can be said that Zhou Ehuang was the last to get the news about Li Congjia's decision to take over Li Zhongyu's education. She knew about it later than the courtiers. There was no way. Li Congjia suddenly threw this matter out in order to divert everyone's attention. Although he has thought about this matter carefully.

Li Congjia's request was that Li Zhongyu would live in the East Palace. After all, the East Palace is very close to the Zichen Palace where he lives now, so it is also suitable for him to call the prince over to teach him personally.

However, this meant that Li Zhongyu had to leave his mother early to live alone. Even if he could still see her every day, Zhou Ehuang still had a fear that Li Congjia would snatch her son away.

But she couldn't raise any objections, because there was nothing wrong with Li Congjia's decision, and even in Zhou Zong's view, he still valued the prince's performance.

Zhou Ehuang couldn't tell because of her troubles, so she could only prepare various things for Li Zhongyu, but she didn't need to prepare even this one. The East Palace had been renovated long ago, and Li Congjia also had people prepare all kinds of items needed by the prince. , Li Zhongyu didn't even need to carry his bags, he just checked in.

Fortunately, since Li Congjia discovered Queen Zhong's fighting power, he never dared to underestimate women. He also expected Zhou Ehuang's thoughts, so he went to Hanliang Hall to find Zhou Ehuang and said: "Da Lang has reached his age. It's not good, let alone he is the crown prince, so if he doesn't live in the East Palace, some people may have different ideas."

Zhou Ehuang knew it in his heart, but said reluctantly: "He has never left me since he was born."

Li Congjia smiled slightly: "East Palace is not far from Hanliang Palace, if you miss him, go to East Palace to see him, or take him to live in him every two days."

When Zhou Ehuang heard this, she finally felt relieved. She was really worried that Li Congjia would not let her see her son. The method was very simple. Li Zhongyu was going to study.

If they haven't seen each other for many years, how much affection can they have even as a mother and child?

Li Congjia saw that Zhou Ehuang's impatience was swept away, and began to think about what to add to the East Palace. He couldn't help wiping off his sweat, thinking that women are too much trouble, if he didn't need a wife and son, he really thought about marrying Zhou Ehuang Li Zhongyu was sent away far away and raised for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, he couldn't, so he had no choice but to communicate well with Zhou Ehuang, at least not to create another enemy for himself.

After appeasing Zhou Ehuang, Li Congjia ran to offer treasures to Shi Xueting. When Shi Xueting heard that Li Congjia wanted him to be the crown prince's protector, Shi Xueting was slightly taken aback, but he didn't object. He just asked, "But you want me to teach the prince to know Military affairs?"

It was really a tacit understanding, Li Congjia's brows and eyes were all smiling: "That's right."

Shi Xueting asked: "Why don't you let the Deputy Privy Envoy come?"

Li Congjia asked: "Which one are you talking about? If it is brother, he is not suitable. For Li Ping... Well, it is not suitable for him to sit on an equal footing with cabinet ministers. Oh, don't think too much, just treat it as me." Find a reason to give you a salary. Although you are not short of money, I have nothing else to give you. Over the years, you have paid more and received less. It is not always like this. If everyone gets used to it If you pay like this, if one day you fail to do something, I am afraid they will trouble you."

Why doesn't Shi Xueting know this truth?That's why he didn't reject the position of Prince Taibao, but facing Li Congjia, he said: "Who said I didn't get anything? You are all mine? What else do I want?"

Li Congjia couldn't help hugging his waist and said with a smile: "Then do you still want to say that what's mine is yours, and what's yours is still yours?"

Shi Xueting bowed his head and kissed the corner of Li Congjia's lips and said, "Well, what's mine is yours, and what's yours is yours."

Li Congjia raised his head and took the initiative to deepen the kiss, and Shi Xueting's hand skillfully penetrated into his obscene clothes.

Chunsheng and Taofu, who were standing aside, saw it, and hurriedly withdrew and closed the door.

Just when Li Congjia and Shi Xueting were sweet, Zhao Kuangyin, who was hundreds of miles away, already wanted to tie a villain and curse Li Congjia.