Come on, Your Highness

In April, the spring breeze blows the branches and buds, the grass is green and the sun is warm, which is a good time for outing.

Every year at this time, there are more noble carriages going out of the city to the suburbs.

There are also those who gather in twos and threes for spring hunting.

He Xichao rode on a docile horse, looked back towards the direction of the city gate, and stayed there for a long time.

"Xi Chao, what are you looking at?" Xiao Hong who was next to him followed his gaze and saw a group of carriages passing the city gate for inspection.

"Today I heard that Tunxi Qiao's family and Zhehang Min's family will come to Beijing."

Xiao Hong thought for a while: "Tea merchant?"

"Well, these two can be said to be the largest tea merchants in Daqi, and they have the largest share of tribute tea, so they occupy a pivotal position in the tea merchant association. The Luo family is not at the same level as them, and there are many other tea merchants. Watch what they do." He Xichao said.

"I'm here to attend the border trade meeting."

"Although there are many open border trade lists, tea is still the main one among them. This is a necessity for all countries in the Western Regions, even the Xiongnu. Tea was the most smuggled thing in the past." He Xichao watched the carriage pass through the city gate and enter the city. Twitching the corners of his mouth, he said, "I'm afraid these two families will not be so easy to obediently accept border trade and obey the court."

Xiao Hong nodded: "I remembered, one of the daughters of their two families became Xiao Yi's concubine, and then the other family simply followed the same pattern and sent them to Xiao Ming. It’s a good face, I haven’t got a name so far, but I’m very pampered, and I heard that I’m pregnant recently, so I should be even more pampered.”

Speaking of this kind of news, Xiao Hong was very interested, and he rubbed his chin and clicked his tongue: "You said that the two princesses saw it in their eyes, and they were very irritated, especially the girl of the Li family. I wanted to marry so much, but the Li family fell down."

He Xichao gave him a strange look, and jokingly said, "You are quite well informed about this news, it sounds like you're feeling pity for it?"

"Ah?" Xiao Hong blinked and blinked, with an incomprehensible innocent expression on his face, but under He Xichao's leisurely gaze, he could only sneer and scratch his head, "Why did you abduct me, but Just say it casually, I feel the same way.”

It's him who wants to empathize, who is the one who is engaged?

He Xichao gave him a blank look.

"Hey, Xi Chao, the one I had no choice but to make a marriage contract with, when can I get rid of it!" Xiao Hong pouted towards Xuan Ling who rode in front with a depressed face.

Xuan Ling's eyes and ears are sharp, and just in time to hear this, she immediately raised her eyebrows and sneered: "This really speaks to my heart, Your Royal Highness, each other."

She raised her hand and fisted Xiao Hong perfunctorily, then smiled at He Xichao, "Xichao, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

"We are just here too, the Princess is very polite." He Xichao raised his hand in return.

Xuan Ling is dressed in a strong outfit, with plain face and long hair, and looks very energetic. Riding on horseback, even if he doesn't hold a weapon in his hand, he is still full of momentum.

Behind her are two maids dressed as personal guards, Ah Yue and Ah Qing, and behind her are Zhenbei Wang Xuanhe and others riding on two smaller horses. Brother Xuan Yu.

They all had hunting gear on their horses, and even the two young masters looked heroic.

Xuan Ling said: "Why did you invite me out to hunt all of a sudden? Aren't you two very busy recently?"

Xiao Hong sighed helplessly and said: "Father said, we have a marriage contract anyway, let me take care of you, don't let people think that I don't value you, neglect Zhenbei Palace, and make you dissatisfied. I think it's right, In any case, we can be considered as allies, and it just so happens that we go out together for an outing."

Anyway, Xuan Ling was the concubine he "asked for". After the engagement was made, but Xiao Hong never even stepped in the door, it was really strange in the eyes of outsiders.

Although unmarried men and women should not see each other frequently for the sake of etiquette, it is unreasonable not once, after all, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not a well-behaved person in the eyes of outsiders.

Xiao Hong didn't care about it himself, but the emperor took it to heart, and didn't want to spread gossip outside.A wayward son is indifferent, and the father can only worry about it himself and appease his daughter-in-law. For the Zhenbei Palace, there will be rewards from time to time.

When Xuan Ling heard it, surprise appeared in his eyes, the emperor actually said that, this is...

"The emperor knows about the two of you?"

Xiao Hong nodded, and said sadly: "Beat the mandarin duck with a stick, otherwise, why would you be here?"

No, what she meant was that the emperor knew that he still let these two people stay together, instead of directly sending He Xichao away from the capital or...death to kill Xiao Hong?

She looked suspiciously at He Xichao, who said softly: "It's not easy, it's a long story, and I have to trouble the princess to take care of it."

"Then are you going...to leave or not?" Xuan Ling was a little worried, what would she do if they broke up?

"Of course not! Why, you don't really want to be a princess, do you?" Xiao Hong looked at her defensively upon hearing this.

Xuan Ling sneered and said: "Rare! Don't forget the five-year period, otherwise I will set your backyard on fire, the house will be restless, and the crown prince will not be able to sit still."

Xiao Hong immediately felt relieved: "With you encouraging me like this, I feel relieved."

"It's a pity that a good cabbage was crushed by a pig." Xuan Ling sarcastically said.

Xiao Hong was so angry that his nose was crooked.

"Auntie, His Royal Highness!" Xuan He's voice came from behind, and Xuan Ling didn't say anything more, just snorted and said: "Then let's go, the capital looks bustling, but it doesn't mean anything at all. Wangfu, I'm bored too."

The Zhenbei Palace has no power in the capital. After Xuan Ling and Xiao Hong made a marriage contract, there were indeed many clansmen and women who came to visit and seek relationships. After a protracted battle, the whole person was exhausted, and his face was so stiff that he couldn't even smile.

So far, I have closed the door to thank the guests and refused to participate in any banquet invitations.

This is the first time to come out to let the wind out!

Xuan Ling thinks about it, she will really become a princess in the future, she will be confined in the inner courtyard all day long, she will sit, stand and walk according to a set of rules, and she will have to face her wives and relatives, the future will be miserable.After thinking about it, she softened her tone, and after discussing, she said, "Your Highness, please walk out with pity in the future, and I will cover it for you."

The prince's travels are naturally mighty, and together with the guards of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, they are fully protected inside and out.

On the official road, for fear of bumping into His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the carriages and people along the road gave way one after another.

After the dust flew past, the crowd began to line up again to enter the city.

An old man in green clothes, served by the left and right sides, boarded the carriage again. Looking at the figure going away, he couldn't help sighing: "It's really as young as the rumors say."

"His Royal Highness is twenty this year, so young indeed."

The old man shook his head: "The old man is not referring to the crown prince, but the Minister of Honglu Temple who is in charge of border trade."

"This... just now, the grandson didn't see clearly."

"It doesn't matter, sooner or later we will have a visit." The old man said, "Let's go, enter the city."

With the arrival of the March deadline, big merchants from all walks of life in Daqi arrived in the capital one after another.

Of course, the first thing is to visit their respective masters or backers.

In Wei Guogong's mansion, He Mingrui invited several family members to sit down, and said with a smile: "You are all leaders in various industries. For this tariff as high as [-]%, do you know whether you can stand it? Although it is a good thing for the imperial court to open border trade , but for the sake of the national treasury deficit, sacrificing the interests of us and the people of Daqi, this is inappropriate."

"May I ask Mr. He, is the tariff confirmed? To be honest, I was really happy for a while when I first heard about the opening of the border, and I was ready to pay more tax money, but I didn't expect it to be so high. It's really shocking." Surprised!" The head of the tea merchant Qiao's family is a middle-aged man in his forties, a little rich, and his narrowed eyes are shining brightly.

His youngest daughter served Xiao Ming, so she was naturally close to He Mingrui.

As soon as he said that, other merchants followed suit: "We make tea from leaf picking. It takes a long time, which is not good enough, and it has to be transported thousands of miles from the south of the Yangtze River to the border. The cost is really high. I have to give away [-]% of the money to earn a living, isn’t this a waste of time? If there is another accident on the way, I am afraid that even the blood will be lost.”

"Actually, if the treasury is short of money, I'm willing to donate as much as I have. We are all Daqi people, even if the businessman is a meager person, we are willing to do our best. There is no need to use such methods to collect money, right?"

This one is not a tea maker, but a silk merchant from the Cheng family in Suzhou.

It used to be the Li family's line, but now it is all transferred to He Mingrui, and naturally it also belongs to Prince Li's residence.

"Yes, yes, there must be a way to survive."

When He Mingrui heard this, he sighed heavily and said: "The tax is indeed so much. His Highness the Crown Prince has already let go, and [-]% is not much more. Although the courtiers strongly opposed it, but the Minister of Honglu Temple insisted on going his own way, and His Highness the Crown Prince fully supported it. Your Majesty It’s hard to say anything.”

"Then... what should we do then?"

He Mingrui smiled and said: "Don't worry, everyone, the situation is not too bad. After all, the imperial court did not explicitly require you to go to border trade. You can't force yourself to do business that doesn't make money, right?"

After saying this, several people present glanced at each other, but they didn't speak any more.

He Mingrui held the tea in one hand and the cup lid in the other, his eyes swept over these people, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Then he took a sip of tea, then sighed and said, "Of course, with the emperor's imperial decree, smuggling at the border is prohibited once the supervising army is out. Now the border generals dare not let the caravan leave the border at the risk of beheading. I am very sorry for your loss."

"Master He is serious, there is no other way." Several people laughed.

He Mingrui smiled, put down the teacup, looked at them and said: "It's true that there is no other way, I have to wrong you first. I just want to express my dissatisfaction, I'm afraid the frontier army is more anxious than you, after all, their salary has not been paid yet. "

As soon as this remark came out, everyone's eyes suddenly became strange, and they all looked at each other with deep thought.

Master Qiao pondered and said, "If you think about it, if the tariff reaches [-]%, will the commercial tax that is half of the current rate have to be changed? Ladies and gentlemen, if we compromise this time, I'm afraid that the commercial tax change will not be far away."

Hearing this, the expressions of all the people present changed.

Today's commercial taxes are nothing compared to the exorbitant taxes on farmers, and no one takes them seriously.

But if it quadruples all at once, it would be no small sum!

He Mingrui nodded: "What Master Qiao said is right. You are important figures in various industries now, and you have to take responsibility. If some decrees are out of date, they should be abolished, right?"

"But my status is low, how can I compete with the imperial court?"

He Mingrui laughed immediately and said: "Didn't you say earlier that the ministers of the DPRK and China are not willing to see this matter, as long as you unite and persevere, there will be noble people to help you and make things right."

After He Mingrui sent these masters out of the house, he sneered at the corners of his mouth: "You are too naive, He Xichao, to take profits from these businessmen who smell like money!"

"Master, the carriage is ready." His servant reported.

"Let's go to Prince Li's Mansion."

Prince Li's Mansion

Xiao Yi asked Xiao Ming: "Can we do this?"

Xiao Ming said: "Do you have other methods?"

"But those businessmen can believe it? The eldest brother is the prince, who dares to fight against him!"

"Since the border trade has already started, it will not stop. How can the father make the elder brother lose face?"

"Then what are we busy with?"

"It's always possible to lower the tariff, right?" Xiao Ming snorted lightly, "Twenty percent, that's unheard of. Those businessmen are not fools. It's not that easy to ask for money from them!"

Xiao Yi thinks about it too, but he is always worried: "I always feel that my elder brother has already expected that we will do this."

Xiao Ming said with a smile: "This kind of thing is about what you want and what you want. It's unreasonable. It's understandable to be resisted. Besides, it's not just us, whoever is involved in this capital city doesn't want it so much?"

Xiao Yi sighed: "I hope so, you said that the elder brother is a good prince, why do you have to make such a fuss? I just want to make some money, and I have no other thoughts, but he refuses, really, too disregarding brotherhood right?"

Hearing this, Xiao Ming looked up at him, wondering if it was true or just pretending?

"It's probably because the eldest brother is short of money, and he can't bear to accept a few, so we are not happy." Xiao Ming said casually.

Xiao Yi chuckled: "That's a good reason."