Your Majesty, please draw the card

In the autumn and winter of the second year of Jiahe, disasters occurred frequently in Dayan.

First, a continuous drought affected the harvest in most parts of the north, and then more than a dozen state capitals were plagued by locusts one after another. The locusts covered the sky and left no grass anywhere.In order to relieve the victims, the imperial court had to move out more than half of the food in Taicang, and the gold and silver expenses were countless.Coupled with the many water conservancy projects that had already started under Zhao Wenshan's promotion, the money in the national treasury suddenly became as tight as it was in the first year of Jiahe.Even the emperor wanted to allocate part of the money to build roads, but he couldn't get it at all.

Lu Su, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, was also very worried about this.The emperor tried to plant many new crops in Huangzhuang, and these things have been proven to bring extremely high harvests.However, in order to promote new crops, money must be spent to guarantee the rations of the people who planted them in the coming year. Now that the money for promoting new crops has been spent, drought and locust plagues have completely destroyed both new and old crops.Today's Ministry of Households is almost unable to provide the salaries and silver of the courtiers. The emperor's internal treasury has subsidized the national treasury twice.

When a country is big, there are many disasters. Either there is a lack of water here or there is too much water there.Even though Lu Su was so good at management, he was helpless in the face of frequent disasters. In the end, he had to cut a part of the Southwest's military expenditure to deal with the imminent crisis.

Unexpectedly, the house leak happened to rain overnight, Chang'an has been snowed repeatedly since November, and this time it has been snowing for seven consecutive days!Seeing that the weather is getting colder and colder, I am afraid that there will be a snow disaster.Lu Su has been asking the emperor for money these past few days. In order to prevent too many people from freezing to death in such weather, he can only be cheeky and ask the emperor for support.

Liu Xi is also in a very bad mood recently.There are too many things that make him angry. Although the drought is a natural disaster, it is not without human factors.People in the upper reaches of the Yellow River cut down all the trees on both sides of the river, resulting in soil erosion. The bare land could not hold water, and the environment of the entire Yellow River Basin was destroyed, which contributed to the severe drought.He can't talk about sustainable development to people of this era, and he can't explain what environmental protection is. He can only order the people to plant trees, and the court will subsidize them, and then divide some areas into forest land, and farming is not allowed.

New crops such as corn, potatoes, etc. are obviously high-yield and cold-resistant and drought-resistant good things, but few people are willing to grow them.The most exasperating thing is that the imperial court has promised to provide rations to the farmers who planted new crops. This year, when there was a disaster, those farmers even rumored that the disaster was caused by God because the new crops were against the harmony of heaven.Liu Xi didn't think there was anything wrong with being superstitious before. He was the emperor, and he was an object of superstition.But now, he was so angry that these people threw the pot to the new things whenever they encountered something, and they just didn't raise the torch and burned the new crops up!

Liu Xi couldn't calm down, but he couldn't get angry.He can't kill all the people in the world, can he?How excited he was when he vigorously promoted these crops, how depressed he is now.A large number of good varieties have been brought in for nothing, but the people have shrunk back and refused to try to plant them again. When will it be possible for Dayan's agriculture to develop?You must know that many people starve to death in this country every year!Seeing the numbers sent by Golden Harvest Guard, Liu Xi almost stopped breathing. He had never seen the plight of people starving to death, but just reading such a report made him panic.

Outside the window is heavy snow, and how many people will freeze to death and frostbite silently tonight.Since the heavy snowfall, more than 300 people have died of freezing in Chang'an City, and thousands of houses have been crushed. There are long queues outside the medical center every day, and people suffering from typhoid or frostbite are everywhere.

Because Liu Xi is afraid of the cold, the earth dragon in Weiyang Palace is always the hottest, and the snow has turned into water as soon as it falls on the roof, flowing down the eaves.Liu Xi stood in front of the window, but couldn't see the imperial garden not far away. The snow like flying catkins covered everything, and the endless whirling wore away his patience.

Liu Xi felt panicked, and asked Gao Lishi to open the window, but Gao Lishi put a cloak on him first, then covered his collar and sleeves tightly, and then ordered someone to add a cloak to the window. The charcoal basin, and then ran to open the window.

As soon as the window was opened, the cold air rushed in.Candle twisted its waist as if frightened, and the snow that flew in took advantage of the situation and quickly turned into a puddle of water on the window.

"When do you think the snow will stop?"

The 15-year-old emperor was a lot taller, only slightly shorter than Gao Lishi.Because of his lack of appetite recently, his cheeks have lost a lot of weight, and his eyebrows are slightly furrowed, looking a little sad.He has lost a lot of youthful detachment, and under the influence of his lifelong career, his tone and demeanor have gradually become calmer. If he really wants to show his face, he may be able to scare many people.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The Taibu Order has already been divined, and the sky will clear up in at most three days." Gao Lishi comforted Liu Xi, "Because of the proper preparations for this snowstorm, the damage was not as serious as expected. Prince Yin of Chang'an Mansion Didn’t Zhen also say that the houses have basically been strengthened now, and the homeless people have all lived in the ancestral hall, shouldn’t there be any major problems?” Gao Lishi saw that Liu Xi was still frowning, so he had to propose: "If your majesty is still upset, you might as well go to Fan's mansion and let Mr. Fan explain to the emperor."

Liu Xi thought for a while, and felt that there was nothing important to do today, so she nodded and said, "Then prepare the carriages and horses! Tell Gong Jin for me, and I will discuss the snow disaster with him later. Sigh... Heavy snow blocked the roads, the goods could not be transported, and my private income also decreased a lot. The national treasury is still waiting for my relief, what should I do?"

Facing the emperor who fell into the Xianglin wife mode, Gao Lishi had no choice but to kick the ball and said: "Mr. Fan is well-informed, and he will be able to relieve the emperor's worries." It's a strange man!

In this way, Liu Xi got into the carriage and went down to Fan Mansion under the cover of the wind and snow.

A few months ago, when the Fan Li card was drawn, Liu Xi was really excited for a long time.Fan Li!The ancient merchant sage is the one who helped King Gou Jian of Yue conquer the state of Wu!Fan Li is a true business prodigy. He became a billionaire from scratch three times, and started again after dissipating his wealth three times. In modern terms, he just invests in whichever industry is popular, and he has such a unique vision that he has no friends.When Fan Li retired from his career, he left behind a famous line of "loyalty to the country; wisdom to protect one's life; business to get rich; fame to the world", which is the idol of many people in later generations.

Liu Xi felt that as long as there was Fan Li, it would not be a problem for Dayan's gdp to rise by dozens of percentage points!

But when he really summoned Fan Li, the young Fan Li expressed that he didn't want to be an official, but only wanted to operate among the people, become the emperor's confidant, and help the emperor solve problems.Liu Xi thinks this is probably because Fan Li's card is a rare set card. When he draws Fan Li, the system gives him an option, as long as he spends another 30 taels of silver, he can get another set of Fan Li's card at the same time. a card.It was the first time Liu Xi saw this kind of choice, and he chose the draw without much hesitation.The emperor was stunned at this moment, the matching card with Fan Li turned out to be one of the four famous beauties - Xi Shi!

Although there are rumors that Fan Li brought Xi Shi back to hermitage, but that is just a rumor after all, and Liu Xi is skeptical.Unexpectedly, Fan Li's card came out together with Xi Shi's card. It seems that these two people really have a deep relationship!

Liu Xi did not refuse Fan Li's request, so Fan Li happily took Xishi to do business.Fan Li observed Chang'an's market for a while, and became a huge rich man as soon as he made a move.He felt that the emperor's business model was not very good, and he often educated the emperor that this is not how to make money.However, the workshops and shops run by Liu Xi are all for experimentation, not just for making money, so the teaching of this kind of business is just one ear in and one ear out.

Liu Xi thinks that Fan Li is really a person who knows how to enjoy life.Soon after Fan Li settled down in Chang'an, he invited the emperor to visit him.At this time, Liu Xi was already familiar with the private visit of Weifu, so he readily agreed.He originally thought that no matter how gorgeous Fan Li's mansion was, it would be impossible to surpass Pingyuan Jun's mansion, but he was attracted by the interesting courtyard as soon as he entered the door.This place may not be as expensive as Pingyuan Junfu, but it is definitely better in terms of comfort!

In Fan's Mansion, the emperor tasted delicacies from mountains and wild game that were so delicious that his eyebrows would fall off, drank fine wine that he had never drunk before, and watched the dance of a peerless beauty. He felt that this life was not in vain.

To say that the beauty of Xi Shi lies not only in the facial features and figure, but also in a kind of temperament, and when she danced the clogs dance, this temperament was perfectly displayed.This is a water-like beauty, every expression and every movement of her expresses tenderness.Liu Xi was completely immersed in the graceful state of the dance and couldn't extricate herself, and it took a while to come back to her senses.No wonder King Fuchai of Wu wanted to build construction projects for Xishi and ignore the government. Xishi really has such a charm.Her eyes are full of a girl's admiration, even if she knows that this passionate feeling is not for her, it still makes people think about it.

When Xi Shi dances, Fan Li usually beats drums to accompany Xi Shi.He didn't marry Xi Shi as his wife, but he respected Xi Shi very much and called her his confidante.Liu Xi felt that there was an unspeakable tacit understanding between these two people, and this kind of tacit understanding could not be separated by mere life and death between the rich and the poor.No wonder the card system made these two people into a deck. Fan Li's wisdom and freedom, and Xi Shi's beauty and tranquility, it is really pleasing to watch them together.

After seeing it once, Liu Xi really wanted to bring his subordinates to Fan Mansion to enjoy the lively dance of the peerless beauty.However, the few people in the court were not interested in this, and Gao Lishi liked elegant things. Unfortunately, Li Bai was always wary of Xi Shi for no reason, so Gao Lishi didn't come again after coming once.Liu Xi summed up Li Bai's thoughts as Li Bai and the four beauties were born incompatible, or why he offended Yang Guifei in the previous life, and still hate Xi Shi in this life?

On the other hand, Zhou Yu didn't like Liu Xi's obsession with beauty, but Xi Shi was Fan Li's confidante, and Zhou Yu could trust Liu Xi's character in this aspect. Zhou Yu concluded that he would not play with his friend's wife.So in the beginning, Zhou Yu often accompanied the emperor in and out of the Fan Mansion, where he played the qin and flute, and played with Fan Li. On the contrary, the emperor always felt awkward after many times, so he no longer let Zhou Yu go with him.

Only Lord Longyang didn't like to appear in the same place with Xishi very much, so now every time the emperor went to Fan Mansion, he could only bring Mi Tuan or one of Zhang Dequan, and let Lord Longyang guard at a distance.

Liu Xi thought about it carefully, and realized that Fan Li was really not an easy person.All the other cards he drew kept a distance from Fan Li for one reason or another, this couldn't possibly be a coincidence.Throughout Fan Li's life, although he was the most trusted advisor of King Goujian of Yue, he was also the most sober, knowing when to retreat bravely to protect himself.Fan Li is used to preparing a back road for himself, which is what makes him different from other cards.

The few card characters that Liu Xi relied on the most were by his side to realize a certain ideal, and it was precisely because their ideals were consistent with the emperor's ideals that they could remain loyal.Fan Li has no such ideal, he is so smart that he can easily get whatever he wants.The so-called return after all the money is gone, it is precisely because of this that he doesn't value everything he has.He helped the emperor more out of a kind of loyalty among friends, to prove himself by solving the most difficult problems in the world.It is precisely because of this that he easily won the emperor's friendship.Liu Xi felt that Fan Li was very happy here, and he could discuss some topics with Fan Li that could not be discussed with others.Of course, there are also disadvantages. It is difficult for Liu Xi to hand over matters that require a desperate fight to Fan Li.This person is not his subordinate, and he has a family business and a beauty. It is really impossible to sacrifice himself for some things.

Tonight, Fan Li prepared hot charcoal barbecue for the emperor, and the emperor was full of praise for the goose feet and squeaky mutton.

"Fan Li, how long do you think it will snow?" the emperor asked after drinking for three rounds.

Fan Li smiled and said, "If it snows again, it would be wonderful to let Miss Xi Shi dance the red silk dance on the snow?"

Liu Xi shook his head and said, "That being said, you are enjoying the singing and dancing here, and how many people outside are about to freeze to death. In my dream, I want to make Da Yan rich and strong. How can there be so many natural disasters?"

"The emperor's words are wrong. Wind, snow, thunder and lightning are the most common things in the world, and they are not considered disasters. Why doesn't the emperor let nature take its course? As long as the emperor decides the way to go, he will reach his goal sooner or later."

"Go with the flow?"

"Tao follows nature. The most important thing in governing the people is to let them recuperate. The highest level of governance is to govern by doing nothing, and govern without governing. The emperor is too urgent, and he will waste more time."

Liu Xi does not expect to rule by doing nothing, but after Fan Li's point, he has realized that he has done nothing wrong. Since he has done nothing wrong, one day the world will understand him, and the setback at this time is nothing at all. .

"There is some truth in what you said. Then have another drink and see if it will be sunny tomorrow!"

Liu Xi clinked wine glasses with Fan Li.