Yin Hongzhi and Gao Jingming were both familiar with Li You's preferences, and when they saw Li You's invitation, the two of them also sat down unceremoniously. Xiao Wanyu personally poured wine for them, and after the two thanked them, they raised a glass to Li You together.

After the greetings, Li You said: "The war in Goguryeo is coming to an end, and the final result is no suspense, and the demise of Goguryeo is just around the corner."

Since the first year of Zhenguan, His Majesty has led the subjects of the Tang Dynasty to overcome domestic and foreign enemies and natural disasters, the country is rich and the people are strong, and the government is harmonious, creating an unprecedented era of Zhenguan.

The defeat of Goguryeo, the old enemy of the Han nation, will make His Majesty's cultural and martial arts reach a stage of height, for this reason, the prison country decided to carry out a major celebration and sacrifice activities, specifically Taishan Feng Chan. ”

Yin Hongzhi is the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and he is responsible for the major sacrificial celebrations of the imperial court. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the country was weak and the people were poor in the early days, and the number of major celebrations and sacrifices was relatively small. When holding events, we try to be economical as much as possible, and the scale is also very small, which does not show the important role of the Ministry of Rites.

Holding such a ceremony as Mount Tai Feng Zen is, of course, a major achievement of the Ministry of Rites and his book of the Ministry of Rites.

He immediately said: "It should be, Your Majesty's great achievements far surpass that of Emperor Qin and Han Wu, and it is long overdue to hold the Taishan Sealing Ceremony." ”

Li You said with a smile: "Yes, since Your Majesty's merits far exceed those of Emperor Qin and Han Wu, Mount Tai Feng Zen sacrifice ceremony, the scale of the celebration must also far exceed the specifications of Emperor Qin and Han Wu, showing the grandeur of my Tang Dynasty." ”

Then he took out the drawings of the altar altar and explained the specifications of Mount Tai's sealing activities.

Yin Hongzhi couldn't help but get excited when he saw that the scale of this Taishan Feng Zen sacrifice and worship ceremony was so grand. Especially when I heard that he was hosting this event, I immediately felt very honored.

He arched his hand in the direction of the East Palace and said: "Thank you for the trust of the prison country in the minister, the minister must do his best and die." He will not fail His Highness's trust in his ministers. ”

Gao Jingming didn't say anything, his mind was running fast, calculating how much it would cost.

He asked: "Your Highness, it is a large-scale move to hold the Taishan Feng Zen Worship Ceremony, and I am afraid that this cost is not a small amount, right?"

Li You smiled and said: "Tall man, life must be happy, don't make the gold bottle empty to the moon." You don't want to be petty, the poor are willing to spend money to marry a wife and a daughter. What's more, this is the first time that this is the first time that Datang has held a ceremony to worship Mount Tai, and I must pay when I should pay for it. ”

"How much money is needed in total" Gao Jingming is most concerned about this.

Li You said: "3 million." ”

"Ah, so many! Your Royal Highness, the largest sacrificial event held by the imperial court in the past did not cost more than 300,000 guan, which is too much, even if it is to build two bombs within a radius of Mount Tai, 500,000 guan is enough, why do you need so much" Gao Jingming was really reluctant.

Li You smiled: "You, you are an old Shanxi picker." For such a grand celebration, to take on a new look, it is a very hard thing to participate in the celebration, which requires rehearsals and a long journey to Mount Tai. If the nobles and ministers of the court do not have direct benefits, they may have complaints in their hearts. With such emotions, the Taishan Zen Ceremony will lose the true meaning of the celebration.

It is necessary to take advantage of the celebration to add some benefits to the nobles and ministers of the imperial court. Each person should make a set of six dresses for the ceremonial celebration, and the food and travel expenses along the way should be fully prepared.

There are also guests from dozens of countries attending the celebration, and the reception must be done to make them feel at home.

The whole event will be attended by tens of thousands, you calculate how much it will cost."

The more Gao Jingming listened, the more headache he felt, and he said: "If that's the case, I'm afraid three million guan is not enough." You don't change your hexagram on the fly, you can add it at any time. ”

The budget is insufficient, and temporary increases in funds are not uncommon in the affairs of the imperial court. Three million Guan Gao Jingming was already a headache, and the scale of the celebration was so grand, it really scared him.

Li You saw the bitter look on Gao Jingming's face and said, "Don't worry, I have calculated this money, and there should be a surplus after the whole event is held." ”

Others ask for money, even if Li Shimin asks for money, Gao Jingming thinks it is inappropriate, and he will still resist. Only Li You asked for money, and Gao Jingming was more happy.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! Since His Royal Highness said so, the minister strongly supported it. However, the minister had two demands. First, this part of the expenditure, in the process of expenditure, the household department should send someone to supervise, after all, this expenditure is too large. ”

Yin Hongzhi said a little unhappily: "Lord Gao, you can't trust our Ministry of Rites. I Yin Hongzhi is impartial, there will be no mistakes, if you are willing to send someone to participate in the supervision, send someone to come! ”

Li You said: "Uncle, what Master Gao said is reasonable, such a beautiful activity, we must avoid some people making irresponsible remarks. It is a good idea for the household department to send someone to supervise the expenditure. "Li You and Li Chengqian will definitely be jealous of some people when they hold such a face-revealing activity, and they will do everything possible to find fault. They can't be allowed to find fault with this grand sycophant.

Yin Hongji said happily: "No problem. Send someone for you. Hey, just let Lord Wei send the imperial history from the imperial history platform to supervise, and I'll see who can find fault. ”

As we all know, under normal circumstances, no matter what activities are carried out, in the process of expenditure, the personnel who handle it must have oil and water, let alone such a large amount of money. Yin Hongzhi let people supervise the use, so he blocked the opportunity to make oil and water.

However, Yin Hongzhi is not short of money, and just the shares in Li You's name can bring him a huge amount of income every year. Facing the aggressiveness of Li Bin, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, what he needs most now is political achievements.

If you want to say who is the most honest in Datang, except for a few people such as Wei Zheng, that is Li You and those close to him, they have money and can't be corrupted.

Seeing that Li You and Yin Hongzhi agreed with his first opinion, Gao Jingming felt a lot better.

He said: "The Mt. Taishan Meditation is a worthwhile event. However, spending so much money on a single event will make life difficult for the head of the family department in the future. ”

In fact, in recent years, Datang has had good weather and rain, agriculture has been bumper year after year, and industry and commerce have developed greatly. The entire treasury revenue has increased dozens of times compared with the first year of Zhenguan. The household department is not bad for money.

For Gao Jingming, a miser, he doesn't have too much money to pay, as long as he takes the money out, his ribs hurt.

Li You knew that he wanted to make money for the household, and he said: "Lord Gao, the war in Goguryeo is about to end, and the income captured in Goguryeo alone is a huge number, and 3 million guan is nothing."

Speaking of this, Gao Jingming's mood suddenly improved a lot. Although Goguryeo is now poor and can't eat salt and grain, it doesn't mean that they don't have money, it's just that they have money and no place to spend it.

It is precisely because they have money and no place to spend it that they will leave a lot of wealth. After conquering Goguryeo, excluding the part of the money distributed to the soldiers, the money handed over to the treasury should not be a small amount.

Then, Li You said: "There is one more thing, my Tang Dynasty is powerful all over the world, do those missions who come to participate in the celebration dare to come empty-handed."

Let me tell you the truth, the mission sent this time will imply that they are carrying a considerable amount of gifts. Think about how many congratulatory gifts will be brought by the missions of dozens of countries

I have already discussed this matter with the prison state, and 20% of these congratulatory gifts will be left in the Ministry of Rites, 20% will be left in the Inner Government, and the rest will be handed over to the Ministry of Households for auction, so it's all right."

"Okay, this one." Gao Jingming suddenly became happy.

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, from Li Yuan to Li Shimin, they have a good face. They did not ask the vassal countries to pay tribute to the money and grain, but only made them submit in face, and sent envoys to congratulate them during the New Year's holidays, and the gifts they brought were also pitiful, and they were all handed over to the inner government. It's not that the household department is less than a star and a half.

On the contrary, the Tang Dynasty gave these countries very generous gifts in return, to show the grandeur of the great country rich from all over the world. It's purely to die to save face and suffer sin.

At this time, Gao Jingming obviously thought of this. He said: "We have received so many gifts, but the number of gifts to these countries is probably even greater, and when the time comes, won't the household department have to pay?"

Li You said with a smile: "For countries and regions such as vassal states and overseas governors' offices, the imperial court is Lao Tzu, and they are children and grandchildren. It is right for children and grandchildren to respect Lao Tzu, and what kind of gift should be given to them

Besides, what they really need is not to give them money in return, but also to give them a name. After the completion of the Taishan Zen sealing activity, they were re-canonized by the imperial court, and when the time came, they were given a canonization edict, and they were very happy.

If you think about it, in order to be able to get the canonization of the imperial court, they are afraid that they will bring a large amount of additional wealth. In this case, do you care about anything other than this little money?"

"Oh, Your Highness, you're so good at making money. You're here to be the head of the household! Gao Jingming was so excited that he forgot his identity.

Then, he reacted, hurriedly stood up and arched his hand and said, "Oh, Your Highness." The minister was excited for a moment and lost his words. Please don't blame Your Highness. ”

Li You smiled: "You, what a money fan!" However, Datang has a big housekeeper like you, which is really a blessing for the community. Ha ha. ”

"Hahahaha", everyone laughed together.

"The Taishan Sealing Zen Ceremony is a fair and honest thing, why keep it secret," Gao Jingming asked puzzled.

Li You said: "At present, the war in Goguryeo is not over after all, if Your Majesty knows that the Taishan Sealing Ceremony is about to be held, he will definitely speed up the march, which may bring danger to the war because of impatience." ”

"Your Highness, the minister understands. However, you said that this matter should be kept secret for the time being, and such a large amount of expenses will definitely attract attention, how should the minister operate?" asked Gao Jingming.

"Yes, how can I keep it secret when I prepare for a ceremony like Mount Tai's Sealing Zen" Yin Hongzhi also began to have a headache.

With such a large-scale event, it is difficult to keep it secret. Gao Jingming and Yin Hongzhi both looked at Li You, waiting for him to give a solution.