Zu Zhizan listened to the two of them. He was confused for a while, then he thought it through. When he heard Li Longji's words, he thought about it and felt that it was quite simple. It was true.
However, as he listened, Zu Zhizan was shocked again. He finally realized that Li Longji didn't stop the Military Selection because he was happy. He knew about Xiao Bao's plan.
He wanted to give Xiaobao enough time to think and not let Xiaobao worry about other things. From the looks of it, he had succeeded. His Tubo had suffered a calamity this time, and so many things were implicated.
Even the future income of the imperial court, the business of the merchants, the production of goods in Tubo, the transportation of goods, and even the compensation for the loss of the people were all included.
What's more, the logistics supplies for the war against Polyphaga a year later were used in the post-disaster reconstruction. Were they still human? How long did it take? If Xiao Bao could consider it, Li Longji could also analyze it.
Princess Jincheng didn't think too much. When she heard that it could bring benefits to Tubo, she was happy. With this, her position in Tubo would be more stable in the future. In the past, it was because of the military strength of the Tang Empire. After the disaster relief and reconstruction, she won more people's hearts.
She thanked them, "Thank you, Imperial Brother and Xiao Bao. Without your help, my husband and I wouldn't have received any news until now. Even in Lhasa City, we could only be anxious.
Xiaobao, it's no wonder you have such a good wife like Juanjuan. You're really capable. Juanjuan is really blessed to be with you. Can you start the Military Selection again? It won't take too much time. "
"I am the one who is happy to have Cuckoo by my side." Zhang Xiaobao looked at Wang Juan and said. Wang Juan rolled her eyes at him. He then said, "Not yet. There are many things that have not been arranged. We have to stop the Military Selection.
Right now, we are talking about the problem of rebuilding and compensating the Tubo people. There is one more important thing. The disaster has not passed yet, so we have to focus on this matter. Let Shuiyun lead the group of eagles in the capital. "
Wang Juan agreed, "Yes, it can't move water clouds without a command. An eagle usually only listens to the command of the person who raised it, and it's impossible to let an eagle fly with a person. Otherwise, how are we going to transport goods if we just send people away?
Shuiyun can still lead the other eagles. Get Shuiyun to help and fly a few more times. We must prepare fresh meat in Pengzhou. Don't tire the eagles to death. "
The others sighed one after another. Shui Yun was going to be used at a critical moment. It was really important to have a general who could fly.
"On the sand table, if Cuckoo didn't remove Shui Yun's ability, the battle would be much smoother than it is now. With Shui Yun leading the group of eagles, there is no space for other people in the sky. Hot air balloons and gliders, no one can get control of the air.
Your Majesty, this concubine suggests that we give Shuiyun's children the titles of officials as well. If the children of other people can become officials, why can't Shuiyun's children? There is also Hong Luan. Aiya, their children should have learned to fly already. They are much later than the other eagles. "
Empress Wang liked Shui Yun the most. In her heart, she had always treated Shui Yun as a real general. When she heard Cuckoo mention Shui Yun, she helped to get officials.
A smile appeared on Li Longji's face again. He nodded and said, "That's right. Give it, give it to the officials. Anyone who makes contributions to the Tang Empire should be praised, even if they are beasts. Shui Yun's children, I believe they can learn some skills from Shui Yun in the future.
A year later, they can accompany Xiao Bao and Cuckoo on an expedition. I am starting to worry about the people of Duoduo. A group of eagles that look like humans in the sky, together with hot air balloons, gliders, and the umbrellas that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo mentioned just now, but the planes that haven't been made yet.
On the ground, under the clouds, and in the sky, everything is occupied by the Tang Empire. Fight, fight fiercely for me. After you fight, plunder their things, and then … then … "
Li Longji stopped here and looked at Zhang Xiaobao again. "Well done, Xiao Bao, I was almost fooled by you. Have you used up all your tricks?"
"I didn't finish. Foster Father, did I mention this again?" Zhang Xiaobao pretended to be confused and asked Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi shook his head. "Your Majesty, Xiao Bao didn't mention it."
"You two are family. He didn't say it directly, but this is what he meant. Do you understand what I mean?" Li Longji said to Gao Lishi.
"I understand. Your Majesty, please continue. This subject is all ears." What else could Gao Lishi say? He could only admit it.
Li Longji harrumphed. "Xiao Bao's idea is to send the things he plunder to Great Tang through this route, right?"
Seeing that Xiao Bao was being bullied, Wang Juan added, "That's right. Your Majesty is truly wise. In truth, Xiao Bao and I didn't expect Your Majesty to be so formidable. Then … Your Majesty, you're truly formidable. I'll go discuss other matters with Xiao Bao. Disaster relief is of the utmost importance."
After saying those words, Wang Juan pulled Zhang Xiaobao out of the room. It was unknown where the two of them went to discuss the matter.
Li Longji was stunned. He lowered his head and pondered, "That's not right. Did you see it earlier? Xiao Bao and Cuckoo discussed for … almost half an hour. They must have rejected many of our plans before finally agreeing to the current one.
Could it be that the two of them only thought of this much? Do you really think that they could come up with something that even I can think of? Do you believe me? "
"I think so," Gao Lishi agreed.
"I think that your ability to flatter people is much worse. Think of something for me. Men, call Xiao Bao and Cuckoo back. Who knows what they're doing in a secluded place? Is it more important to discuss matters or their matters?"
Li Longji glared at Gao Lishi. His next words left everyone in the room dumbfounded. Was this something that the emperor should say?
"What are you looking at? What's wrong with me saying that about them? Why aren't you calling them back? I'm so close to them. If I were to say something about Xiao Bao, Cuckoo would be unwilling to come back. Call them back and tell them to rest for two days. What's the rush? "
Li Longji added.
Soon, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan returned. Each of them was holding a fruit pancake. The deep-fried dough sticks were fried so well that crunching sounds could be heard when they bit into them.
The two of them were also holding paper bags in their hands.
Li Longji swallowed his saliva and said, "Cuckoo didn't let me say anything about your husband. Did you drag him outside to enjoy life? Did you put hot sauce in the pancakes? "
"Yes, I did. I wasn't unwilling. I went to make pancakes for Your Majesty. One for each of us. Try it. With Xiaobao's skills, I had someone prepare the ingredients long ago, but I didn't have time. If Your Majesty hadn't stopped the military exercise, I reckon that by the time you wanted to eat it, the mixture would have been bubbling."
Wang Juan handed out the bags to each of them one by one.
When everyone heard that the pancakes were made by Xiao Bao, they eagerly took a bite. Before they even tasted the flavor, they praised it first. Even if the ingredients were the same as those outside, the method and the control of the fire were the same, they would still feel that it was good. It was just a psychological effect.
Li Longji first said to Zu Zan and Princess Jincheng, "Eat. The rescue didn't stop because of you eating. Since something has happened, there's no difference whether you are anxious or not. Xiao Bao and Cuckoo are probably thinking of a solution when they are eating. Don't worry. If the two of them can't solve it, it's useless for you to worry."
After saying that, Li Longji took a big bite and said, "Okay, I haven't eaten Xiao Bao's dishes for a few days. It's not easy to eat a fruit pancake today. Why don't we stop every few days and rest for a day so that Xiao Bao can cook for us? It's a little sour. It's hot sauce, right? Okay. "
"It's because the noodles have been cooked for too long." Zhang Xiaobao said frankly.
"Uh ~? Oh, it's delicious after cooking for a long time. It turns out that cooking for a long time can improve the taste. Xiao Bao, your cooking is amazing. It's only a little sour after cooking for a long time. "
Li Longji didn't mind and continued to praise. The taste was indeed good.
Wang Juan continued, "Xiao Bao added more sweet sauce, eggs, and coriander to suppress the sour taste. Cooking is the same as national affairs. It has to be considered thoroughly.
"Once you give an order, you change it again and again. The people can't stand the constant changes. Hence, even though we've come up with a plan for the reconstruction today, Xiaobao and I still have to discuss it later. Otherwise, you're being irresponsible. If you're not responsible for the people, how can they trust you?
A qualified leader can't always squander trust. You can only think of ways to strengthen it. Otherwise, you will develop a habit of not caring and think that the people can accept it. You will squander your trust. When you need the people to support you, you will realize that you will only get voices of opposition. "
Wang Juan's words made Li Longji and the others stop eating the fruit pancakes.
Li Longji put the fruit pancakes on the small table and instructed the people beside him, "Go and tell the imperial chefs that everyone is eating fruit pancakes today. Make more of them. After they are done, send them to the entrance of the Hibiscus Garden and give them to the passersby.
Tell them that the opening of the Hibiscus Garden will be delayed because of the snow disaster in Tubo. I have temporarily requisitioned Xiao Bao and Cuckoo to deal with this matter. The military election will be temporarily suspended. The time will be counted together.
Let them go to the zoo. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan don't have to fork out money. There is also an ice rink. After the military election, I will build a bigger amusement park in Beijing. There will be no entrance fee, and the entertainment inside will be free for a month.
There is no need to wait for it to be completed. Start building now. Gather those craftsmen who can't find work and start working. Give them a salary. You must explain clearly to the people who are waiting to come in to play. "
Hearing Li Longji's words, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan looked at each other and revealed gratified smiles at the same time. They felt that if the Emperor was like this in an imperial country, why would there be a need for a democratic election system?
When Zu Zan saw this, he whispered to Princess Jincheng, "When we go back, we will also learn from His Majesty's method. I think I understand. Sometimes when you sincerely do things for the people and make a mistake, the people don't want to beat you to death with a stick.
What they want is your attitude, your sincere and undisguised explanation. You will be able to obtain the forgiveness, understanding, and support of the people. The people are very clear that if you put them in the position of an official, they will not be able to do it. They will have to learn for a long time.
When you are in this position, think about the people. If you really do something wrong, you can frankly tell the people and be willing to change. The people will give you a chance.
But even if you lie and deceive the people, the people are not stupid. They are clear in their hearts. Just like what Cuckoo said, when you squander the last bit of credibility, you are finished. A rebellion will happen sooner or later. "
Princess Jincheng nodded, "Our Tang Dynasty has Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. I am really relieved. Husband, eat. Don't worry about the things on our side. They have done very well. Only they have such a reaction speed.
I now know why they earn so little. Compared to Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, they have much less ability. When they have something, they don't immediately use it to make money.
They store it in various places. If they don't store it and use it directly, the Tang Dynasty's financial income will be far less than their family's wealth.
They are another Chang Pingcang. Oh, it should be said that their mobility is far beyond Chang Pingcang. Tang Dynasty's merchants are afraid of Xiao Bao, and it is reasonable to be afraid. "
But Li Longji heard it.
He took a bite of the crepe and slowly swallowed it. He said to the two of them, "What are you whispering about? Tang Dynasty's merchants are naturally afraid of Xiao Bao. I always use Xiao Bao's name to scare them. For example, a few days before the New Year, when I showed Xiao Bao's name, the prices immediately fell.
Also, this time, we need the Tang Dynasty's merchants to fork out money to repair the roads. I estimate that it will cost at least 100 million strings of coins. Is it easy to repair the roads in Tubo? If it is, the railways will be built first. "
It was unknown whether Li Longji was proud of himself or deliberately flattering Zhang Xiaobao. In any case, when he spoke, he looked at Zhang Xiaobao, causing Zhang Xiaobao to feel uncomfortable eating.
But Li Longji knew that the roads were too difficult to repair. Even if the cement was made, it still couldn't solve the problem. Most of the cement was used for construction, and it was done by Zhengzheng Construction Group.
Needless to say, the quality of the cement was like steel. Xiao Bao had said before that they cannot use basic necessities to make money.
Using such things to make money was the best way to make money. But it was out of the scope. Every extra coin earned would cause more harm to the people. That was why Zhengzheng Construction Group couldn't do that.
The real time to make money was when the basic necessities were done. When someone wants to build a garden or a pavilion, the price would not be the same. It would only be slightly higher than the cost. Who asked you to be rich?
For example, if the people look for Zhengzheng Construction Group and say that their house is broken and they want to build a new house with three rooms, Zhengzheng Construction Group would charge them a very low processing fee. The cost of the materials and labor required to build a house with three rooms would be 2 strings of coins.
If you look for Zhengzheng Construction Group and say that you want to build a courtyard with four rooms, and you want to build a three-story high courtyard with a pond in the middle, Zhengzheng Construction Group wouldn't charge you 3,000 strings of coins.
But building a road was the real deal. No matter who paid for it, Zhengzheng Construction Group wouldn't earn much. Fortunately, they now had a new material. That asphalt seemed to be a good choice for building roads.
But the expenses couldn't be low. A hundred million strings of coins should be enough, right?
Zhang Xiaobao expressionlessly continued eating, pretending that he didn't hear anything.
Li Longji spoke again.
"Speaking of getting the merchants to fork out the money, Xiao Bao really has to do it. If We propose to the merchants of Great Tang to build roads and give them tax exemptions, there will be many merchants who deliberately come to cheat us of the tax exemption.
Those who are willing to invest wholeheartedly are few and far between. We will keep a list of merchants and assign them one by one. There will definitely be merchants who will find all sorts of excuses to shirk responsibility.
However, if we were to change to Xiao Bao and ask for the merchants to fork out the money, there are countless merchants in Great Tang who are willing to invest without asking for direct returns. If Xiao Bao were to appoint a list of merchants, none of the merchants would dare to deceive him. In Great Tang, We can't even compare to Xiao Bao. Let's eat. Once we are full, we won't think about it anymore. "
"Water, water, quickly bring water to Xiao Bao. Your Majesty, can you not say such things when we are eating? Look at how Xiao Bao choked. "
Wang Juan took the water and fed it to Zhang Xiaobao while speaking to Li Longji in dissatisfaction.
Li Longji lowered his head and ate, pretending that he didn't hear anything. After two mouthfuls, he said, "It's just a joke. Xiao Bao, tell us, what are the benefits of building a road through Tufan?
There is no conflict of interest in this aspect, so you don't have to hide it. At most, We will give you a copper coin as the fee for asking. What do you think? "
Zhang Xiaobao swallowed the food with great difficulty. Hearing Li Longji's words, he stopped eating and sat up straight. "Alright, but don't spread it. If someone spreads it, the plan will be stopped. I won't waste my energy to set up another trap."
Everyone was silent. No one said anything, meaning that they wouldn't spread the news.
"Then let me tell you. Actually, the matter of building a road is bound to happen. It's just a matter of time. Tufan is suffering from a snowstorm, and transportation is inconvenient, so I brought it up.
"There are many benefits to building a road. Your Majesty has mentioned them before, and they are all correct. However, that is not my final request. Otherwise, it would be too simple. Building a road is not worth it. There is no other purpose. A road is a road.
"What I need is an asymmetrical income to recruit workers. Once the road is built, we will continue to build it. Then, there will be a problem. There won't be enough workers in charge of transporting goods, especially when we are plundering.
"Then what should we do? "Our Great Tang has citizens who can go to Tufan and occupy Qinghai Lake. However, our Great Tang has the ability to digest our own labor force. What I want to do is …"
At this point, Zhang Xiaobao stopped and didn't continue speaking. He wanted to give everyone time to consider.
Everyone slowly ate the fruit pancakes while thinking about Zhang Xiaobao's words.
It wasn't until they finished eating the fruit pancakes and drank some tea that Gao Lishi thought of it first.
"Xiao Bao, you want to build a road between Tufan and Qinghai Lake. In the process of transporting the goods, you want to attract labor teams that aren't made up of the Great Tang's citizens.
"As for other countries, their currency can't directly buy things from our Great Tang. When you bring the goods over, they will finish their work and earn money from our Great Tang. Thus, they will be able to buy good things.
"They will buy them back and use them themselves or sell them. The rarer something is, the more valuable it is. Since they can't buy things from the Great Tang with their own currency, the value of the Great Tang's goods will increase over there.
"When they are flocking to our Great Tang's goods, you will think of a way to link their country's currency with our Great Tang's currency. Thus …"
"Thus, Xiao Bao doesn't have to endure the countless ways to earn money in his heart that can't be used on the citizens of the Great Tang. He can use them to his heart's content in other countries, right?"
Li Longji continued Gao Lishi's words and asked.
Zhang Xiaobao hadn't finished eating yet. He was taking a bite when no one was talking to him.
Wang Juan said for him, "Yes, when the time comes, you will see the real Zhang Xiaobao. Xiao Bao has been enduring for a long time. For an ideal, for a promise to me, he has been suppressing his abilities."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
