"Not … yet." Li Longji immediately calmed down. He did not immediately question why Zhang Xiaobao had taught the princes and princesses so much knowledge that they should not have learned. After all, the princesses were not involved in the administration of government.
"Let's eat together?" Zhang Xiaobao tentatively invited.
"What do you think? Do we have to go back for a meal? "Li Longji glared.
"Okay, okay. Today, we'll eat northern cuisine. Why don't we make a new type of Sichuan cuisine?" Zhang Xiaobao began to consider the specifics.
Li Longji did not speak. Li Hong asked, "What's that?"
"Total numbing and spicy," Zhang Xiaobao replied.
"Isn't numbing and spicy a dish from northern Hebei Province? Is that where you're officials? "Li Hong was surprised.
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head. "How can numbing and spicy be brought to the northeast? The northeast should mainly be stewed and dried vegetables. Due to the living conditions, the seeds brought back from outside do not grow well in the northeast. I'm talking about the numbing and spicy seeds. Only places with damp and hazy weather should eat numbing and spicy. Your Highness will know when the seeds multiply. "
For a moment, Zhang Xiaobao could not explain to Li Hong. The choice of dishes was greatly affected by the region.
"Okay, let's try it." Li Hong made the decision. He had never eaten a full plate of numbing and spicy dishes before.
Li Longji had some understanding of the situation. The various crop seeds transported from northern Hebei Province to the capital were being sent to various places in the Great Tang to be tested and grafted and improved. At the same time, the crops south of the Yellow River and Yangtze River were also sent to the north for improvement.
For example, oranges. It was said that oranges in Huainan were oranges and oranges in Huainan were oranges. They had already told the world that oranges in Huainan were not good, but the Sitong still insisted on sending oranges to various places to try and cultivate varieties suitable for local cultivation.
The current chili could only be described in one word: spicy. There were no large and not very spicy chili peppers that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo had described. This was all because the Sitong and Bohai Commander-In-Chief's Office had failed to graft the seeds.
*****
After the meal, everyone was sweating profusely. Li Hong basically had half a stomach full of food and half a stomach full of water. He drank a mouthful of water after eating a mouthful of food.
Li Longji also experienced Zhang Xiaobao's cooking skills for the first time. It was completely different from the spicy food Zhang Xiaobao had eaten on his way out.
"Xiao Bao, can the people of Sichuan really eat it every day?"
"Yes, after we plant them on a large scale, you can't stop them from eating it. The Sichuan wine is spicy, and the Jiangnan wine is gentle. Everyone knows how comfortable it is after eating it. It's a natural choice for survival, and it's irreversible. Just like the people and politics, water can …"
"Water can float a boat, but it can also capsize it. We know that we don't need you to teach us in this aspect. You should continue to teach the princes and princesses, teach them the way of a ruler, and then establish themselves as vassals. When you have nothing to do, you can fight with each other and treat it as training your soldiers."
Li Longji followed the topic to the purpose of his visit today. He wanted to let Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan see what they were teaching.
Zhang Xiaobao naturally wouldn't admit it. "How can they become vassals? They don't have military power. Cuckoo and I just want to take back the local revenue in their hands. In the future, there will be more and more local revenue. If we continue to give it to them, the development of their land will definitely be the worst.
If we directly refuse, Your Majesty, as a father, will have to bear the risk of being criticized by the people, saying that you don't empathize with your children and make their lives difficult.
Thus, it's better to let them take the initiative to hand it over, and then return it to them. "
"What's the difference? Hand it over and return it? Do you think we have nothing better to do? We don't understand. How can their land's revenue be poor? Would it be better to hand it over and return it to them? "
Li Longji listened to Zhang Xiaobao talk in circles and return to the starting point. He calmly asked, waiting for Zhang Xiaobao to give an explanation.
Li Hong was also waiting. He also wanted to know Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's plan. Did they really want to nurture many vassals and then compete with him … no, with the future Emperor? His position as the Crown Prince didn't seem to be secure enough.
Zhang Xiaobao glanced at Wang Juan. Seeing that Wang Juan had no intention of explaining, he could only speak up himself.
"Your Majesty, you have many children, so you have many fiefs. Princes are conferred titles, but your actions are mostly in name but not in reality. There are very few capable people. Why? Because … "
"Speak properly. We know you're the top scorer. Don't talk nonsense." Li Longji had also learned many new words.
"Actually, Your Majesty is using the revenue of the Great Tang to support a group of idlers. When they realize that they are of no use, they think about playing all day long. If they play well, they will become more hedonistic, and you will be more at ease. These kinds of people can't fight for power.
The princes that you sent out were basically only nominal in their local areas. Less than one out of ten of them could do big things. When the people in the fief that they were given saw that their income was given to them in the end, the local officials had no motivation to do anything.
They haven't learned much about governance. When they see that other places have more money than their fiefs, the only way is to exploit them. The more they exploit, the worse the local economy will become. In the end, it will become a vicious cycle. "
Zhang Xiaobao paused here to give Li Longji time to think. He believed that Li Longji was smart enough to understand.
Li Longji didn't think for too long. He nodded and said, "Continue. Speed up."
Li Hong finally realized that his Imperial Father wasn't as serious as he thought. When facing Zhang Xiaobao and his family, he could say anything. What was' speed '? Was it fast or slow? If he said this in Hanyuan Palace, half of the officials would immediately fall over.
Zhang Xiaobao didn't consider Li Hong's feelings and continued, "If you teach them more knowledge, they will naturally pay attention. Those who have some thoughts about a certain position will be able to use this opportunity to directly express it.
When the time comes, Your Majesty can discuss with them and take back their fiefs. Then, you can arrange for them to be in various administrative positions. Just like in a game of monopoly, you can set down rules and let them compare with each other.
They can publish their own administrative policies in the newspapers, or even attack the administrative methods of others. In the end, there will definitely be many excellent administrative methods that will be included in the textbooks. There will also be many failures that will be included in the textbooks for future generations to compare.
Cuckoo and I will teach them for another three months. After that, we will go to the north to train the soldiers. If they want to learn more, they can only learn from the books or figure it out themselves. Presumably, the Great Tang will be very lively next year. "
"Very chaotic, right?" Li Longji said as he narrowed his eyes and began to think.
Li Hong quietly came to Zhang Xiaobao's side and asked softly, "What … what about me?"
What he meant was that while others had things to do, he couldn't run to a certain place to administer. Wouldn't that make him an idle person?
"Next year, when the soldiers are training, His Majesty will often go out to various places to patrol. If the battles are going well, His Majesty will personally go out to fight. You will continue to supervise the country. When His Majesty is in the capital, you will go out to patrol. Now that the national treasury has plenty of money, you won't lack this expense. If it really doesn't work out, I can pay for it."
Zhang Xiaobao also said softly.
Li Hong was happy. Supervising the country was good. Even if it was only temporarily exercising power, it was still satisfying. Going out to patrol was also a good choice. Who didn't want to play? In the past, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace wanted to go sightseeing all over the Great Tang, but it was a dream.
"Won't it be that after playing for too long, you will forget about proper business?" Li Hong was slightly worried.
"No, when you see the lives of the people, whether it is tears or smiles, you will be more determined to let them live a better life. This is a good country, shouldn't we cherish it and have it?"
Zhang Xiaobao waved his hand, seemingly including the entire country.
Li Hong nodded fiercely. "That's right. You will be able to see more things outside, and the country is very good. It will be hard on you all to go out to war."
"It's fine. We will have to fight in the end. If we don't get beaten up, we will beat up others. When the day comes that there is no more fighting in the world, it means that all species have died out, including flowers and trees," Zhang Xiaobao sighed.
While Zhang Xiaobao and Li Hong were muttering to each other, Li Longji suddenly spoke up, giving Li Hong a fright.
Gao Lishi played along and asked, "Your Majesty, what do you understand?"
"We know why Xiao Bao and Cuckoo chose this time."
"Why?" Gao Lishi continued to play along.
"They are afraid that the princes and princesses will interfere with them while they are conscripting resources from the various fiefdoms. Back then, they were training their troops in the north and were unable to free themselves, and it was difficult for them to deal with other people's identities.
But now, it is different. We have given them benefits and given them something to do, and they will be rewarded for their achievements. Naturally, all of them will have to cooperate with Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. Providing military supplies is also a form of achievement. "
Li Longji said proudly.
Gao Lishi pondered for a moment before nodding. "Your Majesty is wise."
"Xiao Bao, we didn't say anything wrong, right? Am I right? "Li Longji asked Zhang Xiaobao with a smile.
"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Xiaobao repeated his godfather's words.
But hearing him admit it so readily, Li Longji's confidence was shaken.
"No, wait, let us think about it." Li Longji narrowed his eyes.
Zhang Xiaobao shrugged and looked at Wang Juan. Wang Juan returned a smiling expression.
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