"No?" Li Shimin frowned and said: "I once said that you can be corrupt by order, but that is talking about the money of the gate lord, not the money of the people, I think you are not a person who is greedy for money, why is this so?" ”

"Your Majesty, the minister is for Your Majesty's sake."

"For my sake?" Li Shimin's brows furrowed even tighter, and he said, "Do you think that I will covet this 100,000 yuan?" I am short of money, but I am not enough to reach out to the people! ”

"Your Majesty, please listen to the minister."

Li Mu said: "Your Majesty, that day the minister and His Majesty talked about the construction of the road, and they mentioned it. One of the reasons for building roads is that the gate valve has food in his hands. Only when there is food can we feed the laborers. Therefore, the minister supported the Shandong scholars to build the road. ”

But their idea is to expand their influence. His Majesty also said that the influence of the gate valve in the local area has always been a problem for the henchmen of the imperial court. ”

Li Shimin snorted: "Since you know, why do you want to promote this?" Shandong was already unwilling to accept the constraints of the imperial court, and if the road was built again, the imperial court would not be able to govern it in the future. ”

"It was precisely in order to solve this matter that the minister tried his best to make it happen." Li Mu said seriously: "Your Majesty just said that these 100,000 guan will eventually be distributed to the people. But the minister thought that it was more than that. ”

"What do you mean?"

"Shandong has been dissatisfied with the constraints of the imperial court for a long time, and many local affairs have not been approved by the imperial court, and they have not made their own decisions. The matter of building the road this time has a great deal to do with it. The Shandong Shi clan must have felt that this matter had touched His Majesty's bottom line, so they did not dare to disobey the yin and the yang. But once the court agreed, they still wouldn't obey the court's dispatch in many details. ”

The minister tested Wei Zheng and asked him if the imperial court could send the inspection department to supervise if the imperial court agreed to build roads in Shandong. Wei Zheng was vague, obviously unable to make the decision. This confirms the minister's conjecture, not only 100,000 yuan, but also the people of Shandong. In the future, when toll fees are collected, they will definitely not follow the regulations of the imperial court. ”

"Your Majesty, imagine that when the road is bad, it costs nothing to cross the road. But when the road is repaired, it costs money to walk, and it is expensive. If Your Majesty were a businessman, would he be dissatisfied with this? ”

Li Shimin thought for a while and said, "When the road is bad, everyone walks on a bad road. Selling goods, the amount of money earned is about the same. And the road is repaired, although the road is good, but I have to pay a lot of money, and there is not much money left to sell goods, if I am a businessman, I am afraid that I will choose the former, after all, there is a surplus. ”

"That's it. Therefore, in the regulations for road construction, the minister deliberately indicated the standard for collecting tolls. It was strictly ordered to be collected according to this standard, and for this reason, it was even necessary to extend the time for the road to be returned to the imperial court, in order not to increase the burden on the people. The fee standard in the charter is actuarial calculation. It is probably less profitable than before the road was built, so it is cost-effective for the people to pay even if they pay after the road is built. ”

"And the Shandong scholars do not abide by the regulations of the imperial court. Taking this opportunity to make a lot of money, the people of Shandong will inevitably complain. And Your Majesty should not forget that Shandong does not implement a new policy. The common people could not get the Zhenguan plow, so they could only be the tenants of the gate lord clan. Correspondingly, in places other than Shandong, new policies are implemented and life pressure is less. If Your Majesty were a citizen, what would Your Majesty do? ”

"This ......" Li Shimin thought for a while and said, "I will probably think that I will leave Shandong and run for a future - it's just that it is not easy for people to migrate, and I am afraid it is not so easy." ”

"Your Majesty, the matter of migration is secondary. Your Majesty has ever thought about it, when it comes to this, who is the people's heart? ”

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly he understood what Li Mu meant.

Li Mu continued: "In this world, the best thing to buy is the hearts of ordinary people. As long as they were given a little favor, they would be grateful. Take a step back, even if there is no favor. A little less tyranny, and they won't say anything. Throughout the ages, if it weren't for the faint monarch and the tyranny was rampant, the incident of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang would not have happened, didn't it force people to be anxious? ”

"If the Shandong scholars take the opportunity to collect money, it is in line with the minister's wishes. The people of Shandong have suffered from their atrocities and tyranny, and they will inevitably yearn for His Majesty's new policy. In this way, the people's hearts have changed. ”

Li Shimin wrinkled his brows and said: "The truth is like this, but acting like this has made the people suffer." ”

"Your Majesty, but the minister thought. The people of Shandong and the scholars of Shandong, at present, are regarded as a whole. Without the support and acquiescence of the people, the Shandong Shi clan may not dare to be so arrogant. Your Majesty understands them, have they ever been considerate of Your Majesty? If you don't take this opportunity to divide them, after a long time, I'm afraid it will be even more monolithic, and there will be no place to start. ”

Li Shimin nodded and said, "You're right, it's just your guess." What if they do the opposite in the direction you think? If they were really just for the sake of building roads, without tyranny and tyranny, wouldn't it make the people more grateful to Dade and make the influence of the imperial court even less? ”

Li Mu smiled and said, "If this is the case, it can be regarded as a blessing for the people." But the minister thought that this possibility would not happen. There are two reasons, 100,000 guan is not a decimal number, the money is definitely not out of the family, the road is not repaired by the family, and the words are not the final word. There are people who are willing to suffer, and there must be people who are not willing to suffer. So there will be disagreements. Those who are not willing to suffer losses will definitely not compromise. Therefore, at least these 100,000 yuan, they will definitely find a way to take it back. ”

"Besides, the lure of tolls is too great. It's like a cornucopia of money in it. As long as you are willing to bend down to get it, it will be endless. For example, His Majesty and ministers are a minority of righteous gentlemen who have transcended the world, and with the virtues of those Shandong scholars, the ministers think that they do not have this determination. ”

Li Shimin thought for a moment, and he was also bowed.

From the perspective of human nature, Li Shimin believes that Li Mu is right. But it wasn't enough to decide what he thought, and he was able to acquiesce because he had another plan in mind.

Building a road is not something that can be completed in a year, and such a large project will take at least two or three years. After two or three years, the recuperation is almost over. At that time, if the Shandong scholars are still under the control of the imperial court. Li Shimin is going to turn his face, talking about his mouth, there are countless scholars in Shandong, and he has the upper hand in verbal criticism and writing. But if you really make a move, in Li Shimin's eyes, it will be just a group of local chickens and dogs.

Moreover, the road was repaired, and the pace of the march was bound to increase. In the past, it took one month to transfer troops, but after the road was repaired, it would take 15 days. It won't take long to pacify Shandong.

Li Shimin did not say that for the emperor, some secrets are destined not to be shared. Especially the person he is facing is Li Mu, a half-grown child, he can come up with some ghost ideas, and Li Shimin still can't believe him in military affairs.

After thinking about this, Li Shimin nodded and said, "Since you have already collected the money, then this matter is up to you." I remember to make an agreement with you that the bribes you received will be split between us and eighty-two. A total of 100,000 yuan, of which 80,000 yuan are recorded in the internal account. Don't be clever, I'll check the accounts. ”

Li Mu had no choice but to pinch his nose and admit it, and he did say so at that time.

Suddenly, Li Mu remembered something and said, "Your Majesty, there is one thing that the minister thinks should be told to Your Majesty." ”

"Say."

"Half of the money sent by Wei Zheng is gold and silver, and half is copper money. Now that the power of the Shandong Shi clan in Chang'an City is close to nothing, but they can still gather so much money in just a few days, the minister thinks that he has to guard against it. Also, among the gold and silver that was shipped, there were many vessels. Some of them have been smoothed out, but on closer inspection, they seem to be ...... Coming from the palace, the minister is not very sure, but he just wants to remind His Majesty that there has been any loss of gold and silver utensils in the palace recently. If so, you can check it out. ”

"Palace vessels?" Li Shimin read a sentence, seemed to be a little distracted, stunned for a moment, and then returned to normal, and said: "I know about this matter, there is no need to investigate, it is not lost in the palace, you can dispose of it yourself." ”

"Oh." Although Li Mu had doubts in his heart, he didn't ask again, and said, "The minister ordered to go down and melt it into gold bars and ingots." ”

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Okay, after talking about it for so long, I am tired." You step down, that Ju Zhisheng is keeping an eye on me, who is he in contact with, and I will know as soon as possible. If he bribes you, it's still the old rule, 82 split the account, go. ”

"The minister retired."

Li Mu got up and saluted and withdrew. met Gonggong Gao at the door, returned his "Sunflower Treasure Book", chatted a few more words, and left Miyagi.

But he said that Gonggong Gao's side, after answering Li Mu correctly, gently pushed open the door of the hall and quietly came to Li Shimin.

He has been with Li Shimin for nearly 20 years, and by looking at his expression, he can roughly guess Li Shimin's mood.

"Your Majesty......"

"Gao Gan, that one from Changle Gate, is there any news recently?"

Gao Gonggong's heart suddenly suddenly, and he replied cautiously: "Back to Your Majesty's words, I haven't heard any news." ”

Li Shimin didn't ask anymore, paused for a moment, and asked again: "Where is Yuan Tiangang?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, it's almost tomorrow."

Li Shimin sighed and said, "Tell me to go down, when Yuan Tiangang comes back, he will come to see me when he comes." I have a lot of things for him to do, and I can't afford to delay. ”

"No."

Gao Gonggong answered.

Li Shimin was silent for a while, and then said, "Gao Gan, you go to Changle Gate." Eat food, etc., pick up what you have in the palace, pick some good ones and take some. Also, go to Li Mu's shop to buy a few sets of his luxury gift bags, and send them over. Ask me again if there is anything missing, remember it carefully, and come back and tell me. ”

"No."

Li Shimin waved his hand tiredly, and Gao Gonggong bowed and took a few steps back, turned around and left to do business.