"Marquis, please wait. His Majesty has summoned you. Please go to the Sweet Dew Hall!"
In the Imperial Palace, Li Zexuan had just exited the Gate of Heaven Influence when a young eunuch ran up from behind him to block his path and hurriedly said, "You're not allowed to leave.
Li Zexuan was speechless. Since he entered Chang 'an City yesterday, he had been busy until now. He was mentally and physically exhausted. Now that the morning court was finally over, he was planning to take the carriage back to Cloud Mountain. He did not expect Old Li to make him stay alone. This was really disappointing!
"Alright! I'll go with you to the Sweet Dew Hall! "
As the saying goes, the arm can't go against the thigh. Although he complained, he couldn't miss Old Li's summons. After answering the eunuch, Li Zexuan turned to the elders around him, including Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, Yuchi Jingde, Niu Jinda, and Li Jing.
"Uncles, you can go back first. I still have to return. After that, I will return to Cloud Mountain directly. Tomorrow, I'll come to Chang 'an to visit all of you! "
He had chosen to go up north to kill the locusts and had been gone for half a month. So many things had happened in between. Logically speaking, he should have gone to visit Qin Qiong and the others as soon as he returned to Chang 'an. Unfortunately, the Dragon Sect had rebelled. He could only choose to visit another day!
"Mm! The Saint's Fate is important! Xiao Xuan, go quickly! "
Qin Qiong smiled and said.
"That's right. Go quickly!"
The others nodded in agreement.
Seeing Li Zexuan become a governor today, they were all happy for Li Zexuan! Firstly, they all saw Li Zexuan as their own junior. Secondly, Li Zexuan's career as an official and the Emperor's favor was getting better and better. This was good for their descendants! After all, they would also die of old age. When they were old, their descendants would more or less be taken care of by Li Zexuan.
"Then I'll take my leave!"
Li Zexuan cupped his hands and turned to leave.
…
"You've come!"
A quarter of an hour later, Li Zexuan arrived at the Sweet Dew Hall. Without waiting for him to bow, Li Er, who was sitting at the front reading memorials, raised his head and took the initiative to speak.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Li Zexuan bowed, then cupped his hands and asked, "May I know why Your Majesty has summoned me?"
Hearing this, Li Er put down the memorial in his hand and raised his head to ask, "Marquis Yong 'an, do you know the deeper meaning behind this I conferred you the position of Provincial Governor of Qing Province?"
Li Zexuan pondered for a moment, then cupped his fists and replied, "Your Majesty wants me to bring prosperity to the people and stabilize the eastern part of the Tang Empire! This is to prevent future rebellions and torment living beings! "
"Haha! You brat! In terms of intelligence, there is probably no one in the entire Imperial Court who can compare to you! "
Li Er smiled, then pointed at Li Zexuan and said, "That's right! The main reason Zhen gave you the position of Provincial Governor of Qing Province is because Zhen wants to borrow your ability to bring benefits to the people. Let the people of Qing Province become rich as soon as possible so that Zhen can eliminate the influence of Heavenly Dragon Sect in Qing Province and the nearby provinces and counties! How about it? Do you have the confidence to take on this heavy responsibility? "
“e~tui~I“
"What do you mean by I don't have the confidence to take on this heavy responsibility?" You've already given the death order, so what else can Yours Truly say? Could it be that I don't have the confidence to take on this heavy responsibility?
Hearing this, Li Zexuan almost couldn't hold back his spittle. After cursing in his heart, Li Zexuan pretended to be solemn, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your trust. I will do my best to complete Your Majesty's task!"
"Good! Good! "
Li Er nodded his head in satisfaction, then said in a deep voice, "I summoned you here because I want to hear your thoughts on a few matters!"
When Li Zexuan heard this, he knew that things weren't as simple as he thought. He stepped forward and cupped his hands, "Your Majesty, please speak!"
"This time, the Dragon Sect's rebellion, the Imperial Court has subdued over twenty thousand Dragon Sect members and ten thousand Dragon Sect's regular army. Li Zexuan, in your opinion, how should I deal with these people?"
After pondering for a moment, Li Er asked.
In times of chaos, human lives were like grass. For example, during the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, when Qin State fought against the other six countries, not only did they kill tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of enemies, there were also cases of prisoners being killed after the war! During the Battle of Changping, more than four hundred thousand prisoners of war from Zhao State were killed just like that!
This was a time of chaos where human lives were like grass!
But in times of peace, the situation was completely opposite! Especially now that the world had just settled down, the people needed to rest and recuperate. Population and people were especially important to a country. Basically, there wouldn't be thousands of people being executed at the same time!
Because of this, Li Er had a headache because of this matter! Although he was the Emperor, he couldn't execute everyone related to the Heavenly Dragon Sect!
"Your Majesty, this subject believes that those Dragon Sect members were only bewitched by others and went astray. Although they are guilty, they definitely don't deserve death! Gather them together, educate them well, and give them an appropriate amount of labor reform. When they have more or less repented in their hearts, it won't be too late to let them go home! "
Li Zexuan pondered for a moment before coming up with an idea.
Although those commoners who joined the Dragon Sect didn't do anything wrong, but to be bewitched by the Dragon Sect meant that they had greed in their hearts. As the saying goes, 'One can be strong without desire'. If they didn't have greed in their hearts, how could they be used by the Dragon Sect? So if they weren't punished a little, they would lose their fear of the Imperial Court. The next time a sect similar to the Dragon Sect appeared, they would be bewitched again!
In fact, the method he was talking about was the modern prison reform. This kind of thing actually existed in ancient times as well. However, the prisoners in ancient times were usually sent to the border, the mines, or directly to repair the city walls. These "jobs" were not only hard, but also very dangerous. Basically, there was a slim chance of survival.
Sure enough, Li Er frowned and said hesitantly, "You mean to send all these people to the mines or the borders? Wouldn't that be too wasteful? And it would easily incite the anger of the people? "
"Your Majesty, this subject didn't mean that!"
Li Zexuan hurriedly explained, "The Great Tang doesn't have that many mines and the borders don't need these commoners. This subject means to let these commoners work for the Imperial Court for a period of time. They will be provided with good food and drink three times a day. Other than not being paid and having no freedom, they are no different from the commoners who go out to work and subsidize the family! Moreover, this way, the Imperial Court can speed up the progress of some projects and save a lot of money for the Imperial Court! "
Li Er pinched his chin and said, "Your method is interesting, but the Imperial Court doesn't need to repair the palace, the city, or the Imperial Mausoleum. What do I need so many commoners for?"
Hearing this, Li Zexuan said with disappointment, "Your Majesty, don't you plan to repair the cement roads for Chang 'an City? Now in Lantian County, not only have the cement roads been completely renovated, but thousands of households will soon be able to use electric lights! If Chang 'an City wants to do this, not only does it need to repair the cement roads, it also needs to build a power station. All these require commoners and manpower! "
Li Er's eyes suddenly lit up. He clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Why didn't I think of this? Good! We'll do as you say! This way, we can punish the commoners who are easily bewitched by the Dragon Sect and make them not dare to easily flout the law in the future. It can also save a lot of money for the Imperial Court to build roads and power stations. You really have the essence of a profiteer! "
Li Zexuan's face darkened and said gloomily in his heart, "I'm helping you with the idea, why are you still scolding me? Where's the basic quality of a country's ruler? "
Seeing Li Zexuan's gloomy face, Li Er, who knew that he said the wrong thing, coughed and said, "Cough cough! I'll leave the matter of building the cement roads in Chang 'an City to the Ministry of Works. As for building the power station, I can only leave it to your Yanhuang College! I hope that before the end of next year, Chang 'an City will have electricity and electric lights like Lantian County! "
Li Zexuan said helplessly, "I'll do my best!"
Building a power station that could supply millions of people was such a big project that even Li Zexuan himself wasn't confident. He could only tell Li Er that he would do his best. But fortunately, his mental strength was super strong now. He could basically construct modern large-scale industrial machinery in his mind! If a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools. After he built some corresponding industrial machinery, it would be much easier to build the power station!
"Mm!"
Li Er nodded happily. He had always been envious of the Yunshan Mountain that was brightly lit at night. Now that Li Zexuan mentioned this, it was exactly what he wanted. After a pause, he asked again, "In your opinion, how should I deal with Du E and the Sky Dragon Army?"
Li Zexuan's heart skipped a beat. This question wasn't easy to answer. After pondering for a moment, he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Du E first used witchcraft to bewitch the people into joining the Sky Dragon Sect. Then, he tried to kidnap the Crown Prince and the Princess in Xi City. This is a heinous crime and should be cut into pieces. However, after he was captured, he actively cooperated with the court to deal with the Sky Dragon Sect. As for how to deal with him, I'm sure Your Majesty already has a conclusion. Why ask me? "
"Ha! You sly little guy! "
Li Er was stunned when he heard this. He couldn't help but point at Li Zexuan and scold him with a smile.
Li Zexuan pursed his lips and didn't say anything.
After a pause, Li Er said, "As you said, this Du E is indeed a heinous crime. However, without his active cooperation, the court wouldn't have been able to know the deployment of the Sky Dragon Sect's troops in advance! However, if we let him go so easily, wouldn't we be giving him another chance to wreak havoc … Mm? Otherwise, I'll reduce him to a slave and bestow him to be your servant! With your ability, it shouldn't be a problem to control a small Du E, right? "
"Huh?"
Li Zexuan, who thought that this matter had nothing to do with him and was unconcerned, widened his eyes in surprise. He never thought that Li Er's' method 'would be so wild that he actually wanted to bestow Du E to him as a servant. Wasn't this a joke?
"Your Majesty! You can't do that! "
Li Zexuan, who came back to his senses, quickly waved his hand and said, "My house is small. It can't accommodate a servant like Du E. Besides, I'm worried that the servant will take advantage of the master!"
Li Er smiled and said, "Haha! Since that's the case, I'll kill him! "
A light sentence could decide a person's life and death! This was Li Er, this was the imperial power!
"Kill?"
Li Zexuan was stunned. Logically speaking, although Du E was a heinous crime, no one could deny that he had skills. For such a person who wasn't so bad that he couldn't be saved and had skills, wouldn't it be a pity to kill him so casually?
That's right, it was a pity! This was Li Zexuan's subconscious thought.
"Eh! Killing him like this, wouldn't it be too easy for him! Let him be a servant for the rest of his life! "
After hesitating for a moment, Li Zexuan said.
"Haha!"
Li Er laughed. He seemed to have seen through Li Zexuan's thoughts, so he walked down and patted Li Zexuan's shoulder, saying, "You're really smart! This kind of person with skills is like a weapon. This weapon can only be sharp or not, but it can't be said to be good or bad. Whether it's good or bad, it all depends on the master of the weapon! I'm very pleased that you can understand this point! "
Li Zexuan felt the same way and said, "Your Majesty's words are also what I think. Thank you, Your Majesty, for pointing out the right path for me!"
Li Er nodded and said, "Haha! In your opinion, how should we deal with the remaining 10,000 Sky Dragon troops? "
…
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