One of the things that Li Longji loved the most was to see how the lives of the citizens of other countries were not as good as his own country. He would constantly compare them and feel extremely satisfied and proud.
In the past, he had this problem. He would go on a pilgrimage to Mount Tai and make a big fuss about it. He was afraid that no one would know about it. Whenever he went to a place, the local government would spend a lot of money. Whenever he was happy, he would exempt a few years of taxes, reducing the finances of the imperial court.
Now, he also liked to travel, but he was not so extravagant. He didn't specially go to a certain place where he didn't need to be received.
So he made a curious connection between tourism and the promotion of fertility.
He said to Zhang Xiaobao, "How's the construction of the Great Tang going? I want to patrol Great Tang. Summer will be here soon, and I'm afraid that there will be a flood at the Yangtze River. I'm going to make preparations in advance. At the same time, I can promote the national policy of promoting fertility. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone? "
Zhang Xiaobao would be a fool if he believed his words. If you want to travel, so be it. Who's stopping you? What's the point of finding excuses?
Thus, Zhang Xiaobao didn't reply.
Wang Juan couldn't help but laugh. She said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, the construction of the Great Tang doesn't need to be grand. It's fine as long as it's comfortable. When you're not here, you can use it to play movies and become a place for ordinary people to visit.
Don't take the initiative to collect entrance fees. Put a donation box inside, and say that it's used for Great Tang's infrastructure. Rich people will be willing to throw in some money.
Then, use that money to pay maintenance fees and give a portion to Xiao Bao. Xiao Bao can use it on Great Tang's infrastructure. You can also set up stalls for people to rent and sell local specialties and snacks.
You can set a profit ratio. I believe that few people will dare to challenge your authority. Don't rip off the tourists. This is a place where publicity is the most important. You can't put the cart before the horse. "
After which, Wang Juan looked at the sand table and reminded Zhang Xiaobao, "The wind direction has changed. Change the place to release the smoke."
"Oh, okay. Give the order. Extinguish the fire in the northeast and ignite the fire in the west." Zhang Xiaobao looked at the sand table. That was right. The messenger had already changed the model to test the wind direction.
Li Longji and Weiwei shook their heads. "I reckon that Zhao Hanzhang will come looking for the two of you later. Look at how you've bullied him. Do you still have the honor of a soldier? You're just like a rascal. Smoke, smoke, smoke. All you know is to smoke. "
"Your Majesty, you can't say that. If I had other means, would I have ordered people to shout, harass, and release smoke? You will know later, whether it is the Navy, the Army, or the Air Force, when attacking the enemy, you must hide yourself.
Take the artillery for example. Now that they are firing at our army, our army is able to hold on. If our army also has artillery battalions, would they dare to fire as they please? When his cannonballs fell on our infantry positions, our cannonballs fell on his artillery positions.
What's the big deal about smoke? In the future, I will release poisonous gas. If the wind blows, a large number of people will die. Who cares if he is a rascal or not? It's fine as long as fewer people die in our army. "
Zhang Xiaobao said indifferently. He was the kind of person who was ruthless to himself and even more ruthless to others. He would only show his kind side to the children of his own country.
This was also the point that made Wang Juan feel the most conflicted when she evaluated him.
Li Longji's personality was actually quite similar to Zhang Xiaobao's. The only difference was that in the past, he could bear to do anything to anyone, even if they were children of Great Tang. This had something to do with his family upbringing and environment.
Now, a lot had changed. The environment had changed, so there was pressure and motivation. Ever since Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan began to interact with him, he felt a special feeling. It was relaxation, affection, and tranquility.
When the two of them were a little older, Xiaobei and the other nine children became lively again. This made Li Longji realize that it was better for him to have a few people around him who didn't treat him like an emperor.
Right now, Li Longji was experiencing this kind of interaction. He liked to hear Xiao Bao speak casually. He understood that it wasn't that Xiao Bao didn't know how to speak in a bureaucratic tone like the other ministers. Even Xiao Bao knew how to do it, let alone Xiao Bao.
Of course, Xiaobei's bureaucratic tone was very cute. Only those with ulterior motives would be afraid of it. This was because when Xiaobei spoke in a bureaucratic tone, it was when she was about to teach someone a lesson. What she liked to do the most was to tell stories to others.
Li Longji's eyes narrowed. He enjoyed chatting with Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, even if Xiao Bao was speaking bloody words.
"Reporting, enemy general Zhao Hanzhang is cursing at the front of the formation. Ask our generals to go out and meet him." The messenger's words interrupted Li Longji's leisurely moment.
Zhang Xiaobao looked at the messenger and curled his lips in disdain. "I don't want to meet him. What? He wants to fight me one-on-one? Does he want me to use a gun? If he uses a rifle, I'll let him hide as he pleases within five hundred meters. If he uses a pistol, he won't even have the chance to fire within fifty meters. "
"I think you'll use a knife and he'll use a gun." The messenger held back his laughter as he spoke.
"Do you think he can win if I use a knife? Give me two throwing knives. Let's see how he'll aim at me. Unless the bullets miss and hit me, he'll continue to give me smoke. How will I have the time to answer him? "
Zhang Xiaobao was still full of disdain.
After the messenger left, Li Longji said, "I believe in your ability, Xiao Bao. If it's one-on-one, Zhao Hanzhang is far from your match. Just now, when Cuckoo said to ask people to donate money, I feel that I don't need that little bit of money. It's as if I'm poor."
"Your Majesty, I've told you before that the purpose of donating money is not for that little bit of money, but for the heart. Love is the essence of the people of Tang. If you don't promote it, who will donate money to buy things for their children when they need to carry out operations in the future?
However, we have to spend the money donated. Since we don't need donations, we can still do things. Why should we be greedy for that little bit of money? If we're greedy enough, the hearts of the people will turn cold. It's just like Xiaobei's story of the boy who cried wolf. "
Zhang Xiaobao explained the purpose of asking people to donate money. It wasn't about how much money they could raise, but how high their hearts could soar.
"Yes, I've mentioned this before." Li Longji recalled. At the same time, he took back what he said about not having much money.
After all, Tang's operations in the Chaoyang Empire cost a lot. They were all paid for by merchants from all over the country. According to Xiao Bao, merchants had a low status, so they had to do more to gain the recognition of others.
Otherwise, if they earned a lot of money but were looked down on by others, it would be too sullen to live. It wasn't even a tenth of the love and respect that a poor scholar received during his lectures. That was to have a million strings of strings of coins and be cold and indifferent to others. The most frightening thing wasn't coldness, but indifference.
Li Longji had asked Xiao Bao how much all the schools in Great Tang spent when added together. In the end, he had obtained a vague figure.
Based on the dormitory that the schools built for the students who came from afar and provided four to five meals a day, and based on the quality of the meals and the standards of the books and uniforms, they spent at least twenty million strings of coins a year.
Based on the twelve months of Great Tang's fiscal revenue, this took up about one-seventh of the total. Just thinking about it was enough to scare someone to death. The treatment of the children was simply too good.
The main reason was that the status of the merchants wasn't high enough. They needed money, and more importantly, they needed the recognition of the people of Great Tang. Of course, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo also played a role in this. Through incessant propaganda and clear attitudes, the merchants knew what to choose.
"Xiao Bao, our Great Tang's merchants really don't have it easy. They were scared by you and spent all their money. Say, they …"
"Don't, don't put the blame on me. I'm not scaring them. It's only twenty million strings of coins. If they don't spend it, I'll do it myself. I don't need to use the Imperial Court's revenue, nor do I need to use your money. I can support it myself.
But if they really force me to spend my own money, my family's annual income won't be sixty or seventy million strings of coins. It might even rise to a hundred million strings of coins. Since they aren't willing to take the money, I won't give them a chance to make a lot of money.
As long as the Great Tang's Imperial Court doesn't interfere or suppress me politically, I control the Ministry of Works and the Agriculture Temple, as well as a large number of production, logistics, sales, and trade systems. I won't be able to deal with them. The rich are heartless, and I won't talk about fairness with them. I'll just give them a good ideological lesson. "
Zhang Xiaobao was still as radical as ever. What he meant was that he didn't care about what others said. He earned the money through hard work. He was smart and willing to do it, so why should he pay for it? Was it wrong to be smart and hardworking?
This was because Zhang Xiaobao believed that there was no such thing as truth in this world. You were smart and hardworking because the Imperial Court provided you with opportunities. They didn't provide you with good seeds, industrial technology for civilian use, or convenient information tools like the telegraph system.
If they didn't create stable political, economic, and military conditions for you, how could you earn the money you have now? Our Great Tang has always been in a state of war and invasion. If you're smart to a certain extent, you won't be earning money, but thinking of a way to become an Emperor.
Fairness itself is a scale. How many weights, how strong a lever, and how long a distance do you need to use a small number of merchants to move the majority of ordinary people and maintain that balance?
If things go wrong, the scale will break, and the weight will fall and smash your feet.
Wang Juan also understood Zhang Xiaobao's thoughts, so she added, "Xiao Bao won't talk about fairness with merchants. This is because Xiao Bao has always been suppressing his desires. He doesn't use many methods because he's afraid that it will affect the normal operation of Great Tang's economy and cause losses to the common people.
Thus, Xiao Bao has always been standing on the high ground and demanding of other merchants. If a merchant says that you don't want to use your abilities, that's your own problem. What right do you have to restrict me? Then, Xiao Bao will use some methods on them. Not only will I not restrict you, but I won't restrict myself as well.
This is fair, right? I won't ask you to do anything. We'll rely on our own means, and we'll be responsible for our own lives. I believe that the merchant who speaks the opposite in the end will think that it's better to restrict him. "
"Hehehe!" Li Longji nodded with a smile. "That's right, that's right. What merchants are afraid of isn't how high Xiao Bao's moral standing is, but the ability of this industry. Sheep don't have the right to talk about fairness with wolves, because wolves will die if they don't eat sheep.
"Reporting, the enemy's commander, Zhao Hanzhang, is challenging us again. He wants to meet with our commanders." A messenger came in to report.
Zhang Xiaobao said unhappily, "Is he done yet? Cuckoo, give me a pair of binoculars. I'll go and meet him from afar. I'll scare him to death. Yes, meet him. Ha, he's challenging me. If I don't trick him, I'll be letting down his persistence. "
Zhang Xiaobao, who suddenly thought of something fun, took a pair of binoculars from Wang Juan, walked out, and rushed to Zhao Hanzhang's room.
"I'll also go and take a look." Li Longji greeted Wang Juan and followed him out.
Wang Juan sat there without moving. She couldn't go and meet Zhao Hanzhang, as that would expose her position as the main force. She looked at the door and muttered, "Xiao Bao is coming up with bad ideas again."
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