Upon hearing the Emperor's words, Wu Huifei could only sigh inwardly. Now that the Zhang Family and the Wang Family were so powerful, no other officials or forces could go against them. The only one who could do anything was the Emperor. However, the Emperor's attitude showed that he supported the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. What was the Emperor afraid of? Who had the ability to fight from Lu Zhou to the capital? She had asked several times, but she did not get any useful information.
When she thought about this, the smile on Wu Huifei's face became brighter. She said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, Cuckoo asked someone to send me a set of clothes. The places that should be exposed were not, but the places that should not be exposed were all exposed. I wore it once. It was so embarrassing."
Li Longji naturally knew what kind of clothes it was. It was specially made for women to wear to seduce men. He had seen it at Empress Wang's place the day before yesterday. The workmanship was exquisite, and the materials were exquisite. He heard that it was the work of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. He wondered why the two children were thinking about it.
"Since it's sent here, wear it for me tonight. If it's not done well, I'll definitely hold them responsible. Huifei, for the good of the country, you shouldn't be selfish. It's easy to destroy a person, but it's difficult to build a country. Moreover, the Zhang Family and the Wang Family can't be destroyed as you wish.
I know you have resentment in your heart, so keep it in your heart. Don't take it out, and don't do anything. No one can touch the Zhang Family and the Wang Family in Lu Zhou. Even if it's my decree, Lu Zhou still has to give face to the two families. Also, the 130,000 slaves in Tubo … Oh, now it's 160,000. I reckon it won't be long before it's 200,000 slaves.
I know all about it, but what can I do? If the two families want to deal with me, they should have seen those weapons, right? They didn't let me know and directly used them on me. Tell me, who can defeat them? "
Li Longji was clear in his heart. He knew the power of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family very well, but he never mentioned the matter of weakening the two families.
Wu Huifei rarely heard the Emperor say such things to her. Today, when the Emperor said this, the charming smile on her face faded. She frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, are we really going to ignore them? What if they want to take His Majesty's position … "
"If I wanted to sit, I would have done so long ago. I also thought about it for a long time. I was worried, scared, and helpless. Later, I suddenly thought it through. The Zhang Family and the Wang Family did not want to be the Emperor. Xiao Bao and Cuckoo were not very respectful to me. Just look at Xiaobei, who kept calling me Uncle Emperor. In the eyes of Xiaobei and the other children, I was only respected because I was older, not because of my identity.
Every night, after I finish reading the memorials, I always think, why? Later on, We understood. Oh, to put it in Xiaobei's words, We understood. The Zhang Clan and the Wang Clan, especially Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, probably didn't like to be Emperor. They only treated the Great Tang as theirs.
They want me to always sit on the Dragon Throne, and then follow them to make the Great Tang stronger. Their thoughts are not on me, but on the people of the Great Tang. It is true that the people are the most important, followed by the country, and the Emperor is the least important. "
As Li Longji spoke, he also felt that he had talked a little too much today. He thought that it might be because the weather was good, and the surrounding countries were gradually stabilizing, so he could let go of many things in his heart.
Looking at Wu Huifei's puzzled eyes, he said, "Starting from Sanshui County, the Zhang Family and the Wang Clan would always compromise with me as long as it involved interests. If they were afraid of me in the beginning, then they don't need to be afraid of me now.
Especially after Xiao Bao and Cuckoo's abilities were revealed, they still did what they did in the beginning. They wanted to play the game with me, and I also played with them. Don't think that they are afraid of me. I have already thought about it. They are not afraid of me, but they are worried about the confrontation with me when the game can't continue.
They don't want to hurt the entire Great Tang. Yes, they have the ability, so they will compromise and let me continue the game, leaving the initiative in my hands. However, this initiative of mine is not because of the position of Emperor, but because of the people of the Great Tang. They are not willing to fight a war that will affect the Great Tang.
Therefore, compared to them, I am more selfish. They don't care about the position, but I care. They care about the lives of millions of people, but I put the position first, and the people second. I am afraid of them, and I also feel guilty. In the future, I will not think of dealing with them. I am a mortal, and I can't compare to their hearts that are as bright as the sun and the moon. "
After saying this, Li Longji felt much better. He drank another mouthful of wine, and the wind from the water swept over him. A relaxed feeling appeared on his body. Weiwei narrowed her eyes, enjoying this rare day of vacation.
Wu Huifei was dumbfounded. She had never thought that the Emperor would place the Zhang Family and Wang Family in such a position. She originally thought that the Zhang Family and Wang Family were the same as the other officials, demoting and killing them as they pleased. It seemed that it was not that simple.
She rolled her eyes and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, what if we bring the Zhang Family and Wang Family to the capital, Your Majesty will treat them to a meal, and then …"
"Then they will foolishly come here without any backup plans, waiting for me to give them a cup of poisoned wine, or prepare three thousand axemen? Do you think they are really stupid? Don't mention this again. "
Li Longji opened his eyes, looked at Wu Huifei, and sneered.
Wu Huifei shrank back and did not say anything. She also understood that the Zhang Family and Wang Family were so good at scheming, how could they be fooled?
"Your Majesty, good news, Your Majesty." Just as the two were speechless, Gao Lishi, who had left to collect the letter, came running back. He waved the letter in his hand and shouted from afar.
When he reached the lakeside, he quickly took off the rest of his clothes, leaving only a pair of swimming trunks. With a splash, he jumped into the lake and swam towards Li Longji with his arms raised high.
Li Longji sat up and looked at the approaching Gao Lishi with a smile. "Lishi's swimming skills are improving."
"Isn't it because the lake doesn't sink people?" Gao Lishi said modestly as he walked over.
In his heart, he knew that it was because he could often enter the water. In the past, he did not like water, mainly because his body was weak. Usually, he hated that he could not bathe eight times a day to get rid of the fishy smell.
But now, he did not have to worry. Xiao Bao and Cuckoo gave him a lot of things that palace maids used. They were clean and comfortable, and they could also kill bacteria and get rid of odor. In the past, who would wear underpants and cover?
Now, they were all using them. Xiaobao and Juanjuan said that they were gifts for the women in the palace, but the pants that were obviously much bigger looked very fitting for her. In addition, the paper underwear that was said to be for babies, but it was obvious that the entire baby could be wrapped in it. It was obvious that it was for her to use.
Now that there was no smell on his body, he only dared to swim for a while. Otherwise, how could he improve his swimming skills? He did not acknowledge him as his godson in vain.
Li Longji was also aware of this matter. When he saw Gao Lishi splash around in the water, he thought of the group of eunuchs in the palace who dared to wear cool and breathable clothes even when the weather was hot. He was also happy.
"What good news? Tell me." When Gao Lishi swam closer, Li Longji looked at the letter in his hand and asked.
Gao Lishi handed over the letter that was slightly wet. He swam around leisurely and said, "This subject hasn't seen it yet. There is an extra flower on the envelope. Xiao Bao will only draw it when there is good news. Your Majesty, take a look. What does it say?"
"Oh? There is indeed a flower. Huifei, please take a look at Lishi's letter. "Li Longji nodded when he saw the pattern on the envelope.
Wu Huifei first looked at Gao Lishi cautiously. Seeing that he did not object, she moved closer. The three of them opened the envelope and read it together.
"Oh ~ ~! It says that the river will be repaired in a few days, and the people of Xinluo will pay for it. It does not mention the specific situation. I think that Xiao Bao will not make a mistake. What is written below is to collect taxes? What kind of tax is this? We have to collect all the goods that enter the country from the outside, but we don't collect the goods that leave the country. We even have to pay the merchants who collected the goods? Why is this? "
Li Longji looked at the letter and seemed to be talking to himself. In fact, he was talking to Wu Huifei and Gao Lishi.
How could Wu Huifei know the reason? Her eyes were also puzzled. Gao Lishi thought about it and said, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, Xiao Bao mentioned it in his letter. This subject thought that it should not be used so early, so I did not mention it.
The reason for collecting taxes is because we are afraid that the goods produced outside will affect the country. Xiao Bao and his caravans at Pengzhou Pass always have to pay a sum of money. Now, we have the people at Pengzhou Pass deposit the money in the Great Tang Bank and then issue a certificate. Once the money is saved up, they will send someone to send it to this subject.
This subject has told Your Majesty before. Didn't Your Majesty say that there is no need to rush? This subject already has more than 400,000 strings of coins and can withdraw them at any time from the bank in the capital. Of course, after withdrawing, this subject will take out a portion to return to Xiao Bao. Your Majesty has promised to exempt them from taxes. "
Hearing Gao Lishi's words, Li Longji remembered that there was indeed such a matter.
However, Wu Huifei did not understand. She pointed at the matter of giving money to the merchants who sold things and asked, "Why do you have to give money to the merchants? They naturally earn money by selling things. Return it to them? "
Gao Lishi explained, "That depends on what it is, such as cloth and food. Now that they want to sell to Xin Luo, Xin Luo should learn from Xiao Bao and collect 20% tax, which is 40%. If this money is collected, the merchants will definitely sell it at a higher price to earn money.
However, Xiao Bao does not intend to let the merchants sell it at such a high price. If they want to sell it at a lower price than the local price of Xin Luo, they must compensate the merchants with money so that the merchants will not lose money. "
"What's the use of that?" Wu Huifei asked again.
"There are many uses. One is to prevent the farmers of Xin Luo from farming, and the other is that Xin Luo will not subsidize their merchants. One of them is reluctant, and the other is also unexpected. Thinking about it, with Xiao Bao's methods, the amount of goods handled will be very large.
Under the situation of attacking Xin Luo's local industry, it will also make the merchants of Xin Luo resentful of the people in charge. Without agriculture, it will be unstable, and without commerce, it will not be able to live. This is a strategy to destroy the country. "
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