"Third Brother, urgent report from the southwest." Li Yi was trying to feed the baby a mixture of vegetables and meat with a little sugar when Li Chengqi ran over.
The little guy was waiting with his mouth open and drooling. Suddenly disturbed, he turned his head and looked over with a puzzled look in his big eyes.
In less than two breaths, he turned his head again and continued to wait for the baby to be fed.
Li Chengqi saw the baby and gave him a big smile, but the baby ignored him.
He said to Li Longji and Li Yi, "Third Brother, Brother Yi, there's news from the southwest. Two dispatches arrived at the same time. The first batch encountered rain on the way and was delayed."
"Brother, what did they say?" Li Longji sat up straight.
"We won. We won consecutively against the southwest barbarian troops. The salt merchants of Shu cooperated fully and transported countless provisions for military needs.
The General of the Right Vanguard Guard, Li Xuandao, stopped his troops and turned to help the local production.
At the same time, they hunted, fished, picked mushrooms, and caught pandas. Brother Yi said they are called pandas because they are Iron-Eating Beasts.
The southwest barbarians went out to fight, so their logistics were difficult. They couldn't outlast our Military forces of the Tang Dynasty, so they frequently looked for opportunities to attack.
Every time they attacked, they would be detected in advance by the hot air balloons. Li Xuandao calmly arranged the Winged Knights to shoot in the open.
Our casualties were minimal. The southwest barbarians lost more than 20,000 soldiers, and more than 7,000 of them were captured. "
Li Chengqi talked about the contents of the report sent by the General of the Right Vanguard Guard with a smile of exultation.
It was a war, so the fewer casualties on one's side, the better.
"Uncle, why are they called Iron-Eating Beasts?" Empress Wang was happy and curious after hearing it.
"They can also be called Pottery-Eating Beasts. There are pandas in a large area of Shu now.
We all know that warhorses need to be fed with salt, otherwise they won't grow well enough.
Pandas also want to eat salt. Sometimes they go to other people's houses, and there is always a little salt in the pot when cooking food.
There is also salt in the pot. Pandas want to eat it, so they lick it. But bears have the strength, so they break the pot or pot.
Others look from afar and think that pandas eat iron, so they are called Iron-Eating Beasts. "
Li Yi explained that pandas don't eat iron, but lick the salt.
Even livestock had to be fed with salt, not to mention the giant panda that had finally found salt.
"Do Iron-Eating Beasts eat humans?" Empress Wang still had questions.
"They don't eat living things. Pandas are timid. They usually think that you are an enemy and bite you. After biting you to death, they will leave.
When you're really dead, the pandas will come back to eat. Feed them fresh meat, they don't really like to eat it. If you cook it, they'll eat it happily. "
"Brother Yi, do you have a plan for the war in the Southwest?" Li Longji did not care about pandas. What he cared about was the war.
"As long as you hunt a lot of wild animals there, you can dry the fur and some whips and bring them back. It's actually profitable.
The most profitable thing is actually the captives. I've reserved all of them and they'll be sold to me. I'll pay for them.
If they wanted someone to work for them, other than providing them with a meal, they would also have to pay them.
If you don't pay for using captives, isn't that saving money? Especially captives from war, they have good physiques and strength. "
Li Yi continued to talk about the war. He asked the other party to try their best not to die, and the Shu salt merchants cooperated.
He would settle the accounts later and use the captives to work for free.
"Uncle, how much did you pay for the captives?" Empress Wang wanted to change the topic again.
"50,000 yuan. Pandas are more expensive. I just want to raise them. 10,000 yuan for one, and I want them alive." Li Yi stated the price.
The current 50,000 yuan was a little higher than the 50,000 yuan he bought back then. There was no way to measure it. It was not even possible to use the price of food.
The price of food had changed too much. The price of food when he first came was almost six times higher than the price now.
Even if the 50,000 yuan was equivalent to the 100,000 yuan he had back then, he could buy an employee who only provided food and simple lodging. He could earn back his capital in two years.
Li Yi could even use meat as an incentive. Even if he could earn back his capital in three years, it was worth it.
"Brother Yi, you're exchanging money for lives." Li Longji understood.
His Brother Yi was giving him all kinds of money. His purpose was to let Li Xuandao stabilize and not rush to attack.
It's not like the Tang dynasty is taking the initiative to attack the Southwest. I'll wait for you to come.
I have 50,000 soldiers and enough logistical support. You want to waste my supplies?
Without Brother Yi's support, Li Xuandao did not dare to waste time. There would definitely be people in the imperial court who would accuse him of shrinking back and wasting money.
Now, the Ministry of Revenue did not have to pay. The salt merchants of Shu kept sending things.
Baggage for 50,000 soldiers was borne by Brother Yi alone.
If the merchants of the Tang dynasty each took out half of the money, the Tang dynasty could sweep through the Turks and Tubo.
"Collect business tax. We must collect business tax." Li Longji said what was on his mind.
Once again, he felt the power of capital. A single person could decide the outcome of a battle, and there would be casualties on his side.
And this person had just dealt with the disaster in a county of the Tang dynasty.
He treated his soldiers and people with such tenderness, trying his best to balance investment and output.
Then, he went to the extreme when dealing with enemies and corrupt officials. He impeached them.
"Brother Yi, do you think the three prime ministers should be impeached?" Li Longji thought of Li Yi's bribery and felt very conflicted.
"No, they are indeed capable. Third Brother, I understand what you mean. I hate evil as if it's my enemy, but I also bribe people.
I impeach officials, not for myself, but for the people.
I don't bribe them for myself. I don't ask them to do anything. I don't need to make money through them.
Impeaching officials really makes me angry. Bribing the prime ministers and ministers is for the sake of integrity. "
Li Yi was calm. Was it right to bribe people? From a legal point of view, it was not right to guarantee.
Was it right to impeach? From a legal point of view, it was not a problem.
Scattered officials were also qualified to submit petitions. Moreover, many officials in the Tang dynasty who had resigned still kept their positions as scattered officials. When they encountered problems, they would also submit petitions to the prime ministers.
For example, Jie Wan had applied for retirement. When he retired, he was a Jinziguang Lu, a scattered civil official.
When they encountered problems, they asked him, and he immediately gave advice and then "re-employed" them.
It was the same for his scattered civil officials. I can impeach as long as I have a name.
"What if Yao Chong was in Huazhou at that time and drank with us and didn't care about Zheng County's affairs when he was drunk?"
Li Chengqi asked a question that he thought was difficult to answer.
"Impeach. Whoever impeached there, if His Majesty was there, I would also impeach and let His Majesty issue an edict."
Li Yi answered decisively. At the same time, he looked at Li Longji. "Third Brother, if that's the case, can you find a way to protect me?"
"Yes, I will protect you even if I have to risk my life." Li Longji was also straightforward.
"Uncle, those people are going to be exiled to Yuezhou. Life is not easy." Empress Wang felt that it was too serious and changed the topic.
"Sister-in-law, to be honest, that place is a good location. The officials didn't know how to use it, so it became a place of exile.
There are abundant water resources, suitable for fishing, and convenient water transportation.
If you give me the entire Shannan Province, I can support half of the Tang dynasty's food consumption in five years. "
Li Yi was not modest at all. A Shannan Province that governed four provinces in the Yangtze River basin.
As long as he was allowed to recruit soldiers, he could control the local government in five years.
The people would be happy. As for the officials, those who were obedient would be happy. Those who were disobedient would die suddenly.
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