Zhang Xiaobao didn't have anything to do with this.
Li Longji asked the officials to discuss how to spend the money.
After the autumn harvest, most of the regions would hand in the grain and pay taxes.
The grain collected by the local government would first be stored locally and then distributed according to the needs of each region. The cost and demand would then be verified and distributed in a unified manner to reduce losses during the transportation process.
The money would be directly deposited into the bank. When the local government needed money, they would send a telegram to the higher-ups and allow them to keep some private savings according to the different regions and ranks.
If there was an emergency, the local government could temporarily borrow from the bank without interest and the bank would send someone to monitor whether the money was used for the specific purpose.
In this way, the statistics would be compiled very quickly. Before the end of the year, the financial accounts of the Imperial Court would be more or less clear. The remaining income before the end of the year would be calculated again at the beginning of the year.
Originally, some officials thought that there was no need for a second calculation. They said that there was only one or two months left and that there wouldn't be much of an impact after the autumn harvest.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan firmly disagreed. If the local government was given two months of free time, the funds would not be deposited into the bank. Two months of free cash flow was too terrifying.
At the same time, before the new year, the consumption would increase exponentially, so the taxes would naturally not be low.
Li Longji didn't have to think too much about what he said to the various officials and Zhang Xiaobao. The second calculation was settled.
Today's court assembly was only for the sake of spending money.
Li Longji asked the various departments what they wanted to do in the coming year and how much money they needed. Then … then, they wouldn't give the money immediately. They would have to conduct an audit first. Perhaps this was the reason why some officials hated Zhang Xiaobao.
Before the audit, Li Longji had to understand the general situation.
Li Longji was in a good mood as he watched the provincial officials bicker about how they wanted to get a bigger share of the money.
The Minister of Revenue, Wang Bei, looked much better. At the very least, the Ministry of Revenue had an additional 130 million strings of cash this year. He was full of confidence. When he saw the emperor looking at him, he would nod to express that he didn't feel any pressure.
Because the Ministry of Works didn't need to pay for the Ministry of Revenue's scientific research, the remaining expenses were nothing. Oh, it should be said that it was a drop in the bucket.
Moreover, Zhang Zhong might not ask for money from him. His son could just casually think of a plan and the funds would come out.
The officials were still arguing. Now that there were more and more departments under the Imperial Court and the local governments, there would always be artificial overlaps when doing things.
For example, the Ministry of Revenue was in charge of money, but the Ministry of Justice also had a subordinate office that was specifically in charge of economic cases. If an official committed an economic case, the Ministry of Civil Affairs could also intervene. Even the Supreme Court and the Censorate had to intervene. The Head of the Secretariat could skip over the department directly under him and issue a decree to hold him accountable.
The officials knew that the imperial court had money, but it had to go through an audit. Normally, the imperial court's audit department would just audit it. The private bank could not ask about the details of the direct transfer of funds. If the imperial court gave it, the other party would ask for it. You just had to take the money.
But the money earned in the private bank belonged to the Emperor, and Zhang Xiaobao was always in charge of it. How could he not have someone investigate? How could the Emperor not ask when he found out the problem?
In other words, they could bribe the auditors of the imperial court, but not the manager of the bank. This caused the auditors to not dare to accept bribes.
At this moment, the officials were fighting for places where their functions overlapped. They wanted to snatch the right to speak and thus obtain more funds. As for whether there would be a situation where the funds were not used, it depended on the situation.
They didn't dare to do big things that involved the people's livelihood, but they could always do small things. They could use a small portion here and squeeze out a little there. That way, they would have more money to live.
"Noisy, noisy, you only know how to quarrel. Let's quarrel. I'll see who wins and gets more money. I'll set my eyes on that person. Eh? The Ministry of Rites wants money for office supplies? Didn't they change a batch last year? "
Xiao Bei was still hungry and was annoyed by the noise below. She leaned against the chair and muttered. Suddenly, she heard the loud voice of an official not far away. She was puzzled.
Li Longji was in a good mood. He saw Zhang Zhong, Xiao Bao, and Cuckoo whispering to each other. When he heard Xiao Bei's voice, he stretched out his arm and carried Xiao Bei to the side. He whispered to Xiao Bei, "Your father is busy talking to your brother. It's fine to sit for a while."
"Thank you, Uncle Emperor. I'm really tired from standing. I haven't eaten yet. I didn't sleep well last night. I'm thinking about how to deal with the officials."
Xiao Bei shrunk her body as much as she could. The armrest of the chair was high so she could hide her eyes. Since she could not see her father, she felt her father could not see her as well. As for her swaying legs and hair that was adorned with many accessories, she could not care less.
Li Longji held back his laughter. "It's indeed tiring. What do you want to eat later?"
Xiao Bei smacked her lips. "Let's have some porridge. Sister said that brother was so angry that he vomited blood yesterday. Let's have a dish of Lu Zhou's local shrimp sauce. The main dish …? We'll eat whatever we have. We won't trouble the people in the imperial kitchen. We have to prepare more porridge. Brother can't eat anything hard. "
"Who angered him so much that he vomited blood?" Li Longji was not sure. He did not hear anyone barging into the palace last night.
"I don't know. It should be about the explosion. When I woke up this morning, I heard someone say that there was an explosion in the Ministry of Works. A huge fireball flew up, and someone was injured. "Xiao Bei shook her head. She was very concerned about the Ministry of Works.
At the mention of the Ministry of Works, she heard the people from the Ministry of Rites talking about the money for office supplies. She turned to Li Longji and asked, "Uncle Emperor, I remember that you renovated the various ministries last year. The Ministry of Rites also sent office supplies to my house. Why do they still want money? Should we send them to him again? "
Li Longji patted Xiao Bei's head and explained to her, "He wants money, not things. As for the so-called office supplies, he doesn't dare to mention tables and chairs. So, he said that it's brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone. He also wants paper clips, tacks, and thumbtacks.
Also, the various ceremonial items from the Ministry of Rites are worn out. If you give them the money, they'll buy them themselves. If you give them the money, how is he going to spend the money? "
"Huh?" Xiao Bei had never heard her brother and sister say such things before. She did not understand why she had to spend her own money.
"You don't understand, right?" Li Longji asked. He did not wait for Xiao Bei's reply. He continued to explain, "If he spends his own money, the price can be slightly higher. The seller's profits have to be lowered as well. With the excess, he can …"
"Embezzlement? Ah! That's smart. Wait for me. " Xiao Bei jumped down and ran to her brother's side. She said a few words before she returned. She looked at her father warily. When she saw that her father was not looking at her, she climbed back onto the chair.
She met Li Longji's gaze and said, "I asked my brother just now, and he said that he knows. He doesn't care because he doesn't have enough money. He said that if he really wants to manage it, it's simple. All he has to do is buy everything and add a supervisor.
But he also said that even if he does that, the effect won't be great. There will always be a way to obtain benefits. It will also give the supervisor too much power.
But if we use bidding, it will still be effective. My brother said that he doesn't have time to manage it. He asked me to think about it and discuss it with Xiao Yuan and the others. "
Li Longji's eyes lit up. He turned to look at Zhang Xiaobao. When he saw that Xiao Bao was still talking to his father, he turned back to look at Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi gave him a look that said, "My adopted son is only capable of this." As for how capable he was, it was obvious just now. When he was talking to his father, his sister went to ask. After that, he came up with an idea and coaxed his sister.
"Brother said that it's not okay?" Xiao Bei asked.
"It's fine, it's fine. After the meal, I'll look for the officials to discuss. Although there will be benefits as long as someone manages it, it's more convenient to manage a small number of people. I'll save money and treat you to candy."
Li Longji really planned to do as he said. Although Xiao Bao said it casually, it was still worth a thousand gold.
Xiao Bei smiled and blinked. "Okay, I want to eat the candies and candies from Darling's Candy House."
"Darling's Candy House? Where is it? "Li Longji imitated Xiao Bei and blinked his eyes.
"Have you heard of Savant's Restaurant? Darling's Candy House has rented a small room below the flagship store. This shows that they are a very capable business. In the future, they will have branches all over Great Tang. They will sell all kinds of children's candies, and the slogan is' Savant starts from a child '.
They have also set up a membership system and often give out beautiful toys. The quality of the products is good, and the price … is reasonable. The packaging is beautiful. It is the best gift for friends, family, and children. "
Xiao Bei excitedly introduced the candies, as if he was very familiar with them.
Li Longji pretended to be interested and asked, "Can adults and elders eat them? We can't let the children eat by themselves while the adults watch, right? "
"Ah?" Xiao Bei was stunned. After a while, he said, "Wait for me for a while." Then, he ran to the back and gathered with Xiao Yuan and the others. They began to discuss in low voices, and it was very lively.
Listening to the quarrel that showed no signs of stopping, Li Longji closed his eyes and rested for a while. At this time, Xiao Bei ran back.
He smiled at Li Longji and said, "I went to tell them what to eat later. I asked them to eat the same as I did, and they all agreed."
"That's good." Li Longji nodded.
"Uncle Emperor, what were we talking about earlier? Oh ~! I remember now. We were talking about adults and elders, right? "Xiao Bei tried to recall.
Then, he smiled and said, "Uncle Emperor, your problem will be solved soon. When I came back from Hongnong, I heard something about Darling's Candy House."
"What is it?" Li Longji cooperated.
"It's about the problem you raised. Darling's Candy House will be launching a new activity tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow is about right. There's enough time. They will launch a new activity to make candies and pastries suitable for adults and elders. They will use high-quality ingredients and taste good.
Why are they doing this? Because they have the same idea as you. "
"Aiya, great minds think alike."
"Yes, yes. Great minds think alike, but there's a slight difference. They don't sell directly to adults and elders. Instead, they sell sets. For example, a tiger father won't have a dog son set, a war brothers set, a mother-daughter set, a parent-child family set, three generations under the same roof, four generations under the same roof, and so on.
Their marketing slogan is, 'The sweetest thing is Darling's Candy House's pastry honey. The happiest way to eat it is to taste it with family.' How about it? Is it good? "
Xiao Bei smiled proudly and took two deep breaths. It was not easy to say the words that he had just memorized word for word.
Hiss ~! Li Longji's teeth started to hurt even before he ate the candy. He looked at Xiao Bei in shock. Then, Weiwei got up and looked behind them. He saw the eight children staring at them with wide eyes.
Gao Lishi revealed a gratified smile with a hint of pride. Just like when Xiao Bei said there was a difference, there was a hint of pride.
Li Longji turned around and met Xiao Bei's expectant gaze. He nodded fiercely and said, "Good, that's great. Compared to Darling's Candy House's money-making methods, those noisy officials should all be farming. They have lived for so long in vain. They should feel ashamed and ashamed."
Xiao Bei was satisfied. He smiled sweetly and humbly and said, "That's not necessary. They are also very hardworking. There are specializations in every field. It's good that they are old. Big Brother said before that living is wealth."
"If it weren't for the fact that there are young people who are good at being officials and making money to compare with them, they really are not bad. These officials are also afraid of comparisons." Li Longji seemed to be talking to Xiao Bei, but also seemed to be talking to himself.
Then, he turned on the microphone and said, "Everyone, please wait for a moment."
Hanyuan Palace Hall instantly regained its silence. It was as if the commotion just now was just a dream. Everyone still felt that it was normal. Life was a dream, after all.
Seeing that everyone had quietened down, Li Longji said, "Make a detailed report of the various expenditures for next year and submit it to the Secretariat. That's all for today. Dismissed."
After that, Li Longji walked back. Xiao Bei and the others, as well as Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, followed him. Zhang Zhong rejected his son's suggestion to eat with him, saying that there was good food back at the ministry and that he had brought food boxes at home. It was better than the Ministry of Works' canteen.
The other officials also left one after another. Those who felt hungry again wanted to go back to look for food. They didn't dare to leave with the emperor to eat.
After knowing that Zhang Xiaobao wasn't suitable for strenuous exercise recently, Li Longji didn't let him cook or give him medicine. He didn't lack medicine.
The only thing he could do was to let the chefs in the imperial kitchen put the rice and chicken together and cook it over a large fire. They cooked until the rice grains couldn't be seen and looked like paste.
In the end, there was a layer of paste under the porridge, which was the rice crust. He asked Xiao Bei to take it and divide it among the nine of them as snacks.
Everyone chatted as they ate. Gao Lishi told Zhang Xiaobao about what happened just now. It was about the candy house. Xiao Bei was so embarrassed that he buried his head in the bowl.
Wang Juan sighed. What kind of person taught what kind of students? If the nine of them were to do this, they would have to open up many chain stores to form a brand.
During the meal, Zhang Xiaobao suggested a few more ideas, and Li Longji agreed to them one by one. When he asked Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan about what the other country was like, the two of them were speechless.
Zhang Xiaobao could only choose what he could to describe to Li Longji. He did not dare to tell Li Longji that an airplane could fly around the Earth in a day. If a small nuclear warhead was dropped on Beijing, the entire city would be destroyed.
He was afraid that Li Longji would feel despair, and he was even more afraid that Li Longji would ask why they could come over in a day but didn't come over to fight.
He couldn't possibly tell Li Longji that they were peace-loving and invented the nuclear warhead to make it easier to develop. They wanted to plant crops in a large forest in a few years, so they blew it up and waited a few years to plant crops there.
Not to mention Li Longji, even Xiao Bei wouldn't believe such words.
After the meal, Zhang Xiaobao had finished talking about the matter. He was only 40% or 30% full, and he always felt that his stomach was empty.
After the meal, he brought his siblings home and went to the lakeside in the afternoon. Xiao Bei and the others were busy implementing the new candy house plan and looking for people to design it.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan gathered a lot of information to prepare for the upcoming military examination.
*****
That afternoon, more and more officials came to invest. They handed over their deposit certificates and asked if their relatives could participate, but Li Longji bluntly refused.
There were many officials above the fifth rank in Beijing, and there were also those who were qualified to participate in the morning court. They belonged to special departments, but were below the fifth rank.
The officials who were most hesitant were those who opposed the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang families. They were afraid that they wouldn't be able to earn back the money they invested and would be cheated, but they were also afraid that if they didn't invest, they wouldn't get any benefits in the future.
At noon, they received news that other than their group of officials, the other officials who could attend the court had things sent in the name of Savant's Restaurant.
For example, potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, ginseng, velvet antlers, and other good things. They were the kind that couldn't be bought with money.
All of them scolded Zhang Xiaobao for being vengeful, but none of them were willing to change their attitudes. After some discussion, they felt that it was better to invest. When the time came, they would split the money with the other officials. How could Zhang Xiaobao not give it to them?
Thus, a rare scene occurred. The officials who didn't get along with the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang families raised more money and sent it to the cashier's office with the spirit of the wind.
When Zhang Zhong heard this, he shook his head helplessly. He knew that if his son Xiao Bao really wanted to split the money, it was impossible that he wouldn't give the officials a portion of the money. However, his son could make the money not generate profits and use other excuses to compensate the other officials.
"Sigh ~! I'd better pretend to be weak. It's not good to be too strong, "Zhang Zhong muttered. He lowered his head and continued to think about the Ministry of Works.
*****
The afternoon sun shone down warmly. Without looking up, one could see the white clouds. One moment they turned into a pig, and the next moment they turned into a sheep.
Zhang Ju, who worked in the Ministry of War, planned to find a restaurant to eat. Before that, he went to a state-owned telegraph company to send a telegram to his family. Someone would help deliver it to his home.
He had already made up his mind to bring his family over and bring his two children who had never seen each other to play in the capital with his wife. They would go to Hibiscus Garden, the zoo, and Savant's Restaurant for a meal. Then, they would walk around the East and West Markets. He might not be able to see the new animals in the zoo, but if he really couldn't, he would ask Zhang Jiedushi for help. He had to let his children kowtow to him.
Yes, Zhang Jiedushi said that he would think of a way to solve the housing problem. He wondered if he had gone to see the emperor today.
Zhang Ju walked along the road. In this environment where the sky was high and the clouds were light, he couldn't describe what he was feeling at this moment. He kept feeling like he was in a trance. During his days in the capital, he had to walk this road every day, but today, it seemed both familiar and unfamiliar.
Everything around him was right in front of him. It was as if he was walking on the edge of the sky.
Zhang Ju, who seemed to have lost his soul, strolled to a small shop selling soup pancakes. He could only come out to eat by himself or bring a food box. There was no one to make food boxes for him, unlike the Ministry of Works and the Western Agriculture Temple, which had a special canteen.
"Lord Zhang, you're here?" As soon as Zhang Ju entered the shop, the waiter greeted him with a smile.
"Don't call me lord. What kind of lord am I? I'm just a small official. Give me a bowl of zhajiang noodles with meat sauce and no more noodles. It's just a copper coin. Thank you for teaching me how to speak and do things yesterday."
Zhang Ju waved his hand and found a place where no one was around to sit down.
"Then call me Big Brother Zhang. Big Brother Zhang, did you use the method I told you yesterday? Who is the high official you want to see? I might have heard of him. " The waiter habitually wiped the clean table with a cloth and asked with a smile. Then, he shouted to the kitchen behind him, "Zhajiang noodles."
"I used it, but it didn't work. I want to hear the truth. I understand now. The higher the official, the more amiable he is." Zhang Ju sighed.
"Big Brother Zhang, you haven't said who it is. Tell me, I might know." The waiter was curious.
Zhang Ju was amused and said, "Of course you know. I saw Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. I'll give you the money first. Otherwise, you'll forget about it after you finish eating. Here, take it."
Zhang Ju pulled the stupefied waiter over and gave him three copper coins.
"Hold it well. Don't lose it and say I didn't give it to you." Zhang Ju reminded him again.
Only then did the waiter react. His hands trembled and his voice trembled. "Big Brother Zhang, you, you saw the two of them? Did, did you see them? What, what did they look like? "
"See, I told you. I saw them, but they were different from what I imagined. They looked like a perfect match. When they talked, I didn't feel the power of an official. It was like chatting with a good friend. They even taught me how to sing and gave me wine. That …"
The more Zhang Ju spoke, the more excited he became. As a result, many people gathered around him. They didn't even dare to breathe loudly and listened quietly. As they listened, they also became excited. No one knew why they were so excited.
It wasn't until the waiter in the kitchen called out several times that everyone moved back and chose a new seat. The tables around Zhang Ju were all full. Because there were too many people fighting for the table, it was empty in the end.
The waiter served the noodles and returned one copper coin to Zhang Ju.
Zhang Ju looked at the noodles. In addition to the meat sauce, there was also a spoonful of mayonnaise. Puzzled, he asked, "This is …?"
"The mayonnaise was added for Big Brother Zhang. The meat sauce noodles cost two copper coins." The waiter was much more respectful. A person who could see Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan and talk to them was worth a small spoonful of mayonnaise.
"Didn't you say the price of meat increased by one copper coin the day before yesterday? It increased from 11 copper coins to 17 copper coins. Is your shop planning to lose money? "Zhang Ju thought that the waiter was deliberately saying this.
Before the waiter could answer, another person who was also eating beside him said to Zhang Ju, "It increased by one day. Just one day. Yesterday, it was 10 copper coins. Today, it became 9 copper coins. Someone said that Zhang Xiaobao was angry and said that the price had exceeded 50%.
He told the meat sellers to reduce the price and spit out the extra money. After spitting out the extra money, he would return to the original price. It wasn't that meat seller, it was that meat seller. "
"Which meat seller?" Zhang Ju was puzzled.
"It was those who delivered meat to the capital. Carts and boats. Someone said that they were frightened and knelt in front of Zhang Xiaobao for the entire night," another person said.
"Nonsense. Yesterday, Zhang Xiaobao took the exam. How could meat sellers enter the exam hall? I only left at midnight. Why didn't I see them? "Zhang Ju refuted with facts.
"How would I know? Anyway, it dropped. Other than Zhang Xiaobao, who else could make these merchants so scared? It was like a mouse bumping into a cat." That person said unconvinced.
Zhang Ju sighed again in his heart, 'This is fame. But who knew that the person who said this and made the entire Great Tang Upper Realm tremble also likes to tell jokes.'
"In that case, you'll be busy again with more meat sauce?" Zhang Ju asked the waiter.
"Busy. Busy is the only way to make money. I'll be even busier in two days. I'll have to work outside the city to deliver noodles." The waiter looked happy because the shop belonged to his family. He would take over as the shopkeeper in the future.
"There's work outside the city?"
"Brother Zhang, don't you know? The Ministry of War mobilized many imperial guards today to work with the soldiers from Tufan outside the city to expand the city. Originally, it was to expand to the west. Didn't Zhang Xiaobao enter the palace today and tell the Emperor to expand in all directions?
The Emperor agreed and expanded in all directions. He also mobilized the army, saying that this will be considered as military training. First, he wants to build a house near the current city for the soldiers' families to live in. He also said that they will spend the new year together. "
The waiter was well-informed and told Zhang Ju everything.
Zhang Ju took two deep breaths and lowered his head. In just a few moments, the bowl of noodles had been stuffed into his stomach. He didn't even bother to drink the thick sauce soup anymore. After bidding farewell to the waiter, he hurriedly ran out.
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