Chapter 478 Can't Do It for Nothing

Since the 18th year of Kaiyuan, Li Huaitang promised to pay tribute worth more than 300,000 yuan of copper every year, and this year is the second year, Li Huaitang has not forgotten that the copper materials required to be offered have been prepared in winter. Originally, Ning Yuan was escorted to Shule by the Iron Cavalry, but since he came to Yao to visit, he did not come to be rude, and Li Huaitang led the general to escort the general to Bahuan City with people and goods.

From Ningyuan City to Bahuan City, thousands of miles away, carrying such valuable goods, the speed is slow, and when you come to Yao, you feel that the book is used to hate less, and the road must be repaired! Not for anything else, just for the copper materials that the imperial court urgently needs every year, this road is worth repairing.

The construction of a stone road through Anxi was a blessing rather than a curse for the Tang Dynasty, and he was not responsible for the strength of the road, everything was arranged by Li Huaitang, and he only needed to provide the soldiers in his custody to prevent the slaves from escaping.

Shule is not a short distance from Bahuan City, and it takes more than ten days for the brigade of men and horses to walk with baggage, and they have to camp in the field at night. Gathered around a bonfire, Li Huaitang and Lai Yao discussed the problem.

“…… Of course, you have to be responsible for the food supply, otherwise starving those strong slaves will not benefit you or me. Li Huaitang smiled and bargained with Lai Yao. Transporting grain from Ningyuan to Anxi to feed tens of thousands of road construction troops is no less than the amount of work required to build the road itself.

The reason is very clear, for the sake of Li Huaitang sending troops to Xiao Bolu, Lai Yao did not care, although the food situation he faced was not optimistic.

The road construction in Anxi is divided into three sections, the first section is from Gelu Pass to Shule, and 10,000 strong slaves are assigned to repair it; The starting point of the second section is Shule, and the end point is Bahuan City, this section of the road will wait until next year, and the construction will not start until Ningyuan City is connected to Shule, after all, labor and financial resources are limited; The third section will extend eastward to Qiuzi. If the situation permits in the future, it will continue to repair to the 'jade' and 'gate' passes, and even reach Chang'an through Hexi.

There were 10,000 strong slaves who entered the territory of Datang with Li Huaitang, led by the master apprentices of Master Lu, who were responsible for the construction of the first section of the road.

The main purpose of road construction is to facilitate business activities, save business time, and speed up the logistics turnover between the Western Regions and Datang. But there is no free lunch in the world, and there is no market for Li Huaitang to plant trees and pick fruits cheaply.

"Joint toll booths?" Lai Yao was confused by the strange new word 'got' in Li Huaitang's mouth. Not only him, but even Pei Xiaoniang and Linglong Shuangshu, who had been listening quietly, couldn't help laughing, Li Lang really wanted to be a robber to buy road money.

"Yes, charged. I can't keep working in vain, and I can't help tossing like this. Besides, this road still has to be repaired, isn't it ......," Li Huaitang has always instilled his philosophy in Yao.

Regarding the overwhelming problems of Laiyao, Li Huaitang explained them one by one.

“…… The army was exempted, as were the emissaries, stagecoaches, and exiles...... Jointly set up a card at the Gelu Pass to avoid double collection...... The business travel of Datang and Ningyuan will be levied by half, the rest will be collected normally, and the hostile countries will be doubled...... The benefits are to increase fiscal revenue, increase jobs, and use part of the proceeds to repair damaged roads, and part of the accumulation to build new roads, which is called sustainable development. ”

Lai Yao reluctantly accepted Li Huaitang's suggestion, of course, he still needed to report to the imperial court for approval.

Some concepts are the first time I've heard of them, such as what jobs and what sustainable development, but in general, he still admires Li Huaitang's way of doing business, although he thinks that Li Huaitang's businessman has a strong atmosphere.

"The general is not only good at fighting, but also very good at making money, come to Yao to admire!" Lai Yao smiled and complimented.

Li Huaitang laughed with him, but he was not ashamed.

Pei Xiaoniang smiled and fed a piece of roasted mutton 'meat' to Li Huaitang's mouth, and responded casually: "If Li Lang is just a martial artist, he can't support so many wives in the family." ”

Lai Yao was stunned for a moment, laughed, and said: "The princess is reasonable, the situation is stronger than people, the more money you make, the more you can marry more wives and concubines, I have to learn more from the general!" ”

Li Huaitang smiled: "It's not easy to make money? The north bank of the Broken Leaf River is full of gold and silver treasures. ”

"Hehe, the general laughed." Lai Yao was vigilant and looked around, such a topic was heard by people with a heart, it can be big or small, and seeing that no one was paying attention, he quickly diverted the topic: "Speaking of money, the old man has a reluctant request, hehe, this," Lai Yao paused, looked at Pei Xiaoniang embarrassedly, and then looked at Li Huaitang.

"Come and make you polite, you have something to say." Seeing that Lai Yao was old and still spitting like a child, Li Huaitang felt a little funny.

"That's right, the old man saw that the princess had brought a lot of 'fine' Wu's paper, and wanted to ask for two as gifts to give to friends in the Central Plains."

Ningyuan's Wu's paper is made of precious tree bark as raw material, and the paper made of it is 'fine' and beautiful, and the literati and heroes flock to it for a while, but unfortunately the quantity is scarce and not easy to obtain. Coming to Yao to take office in Anxi, there is a suspicion that the building near the water will get the moon first, and it is not immune to a commission. Lai Yao is not rich, as long as he has the idea of borrowing 'flowers' to offer Buddha, it just so happened that Pei Xiaoniang brought a lot of Wu's paper and was seen by him.

Without waiting for Li Huaitang to answer, Pei Xiaoniang preemptively asked: "Come to make you know all the famous teachers?" Can you lend me some good authentic works? As for paper, it's not a problem. ”

The princess was serious. I'm ashamed, the old man can't be a martial artist, and he won't be in the eyes of famous teachers. However, I have a friend surnamed Yan who is very good at writing, although he is young, he has a deep knowledge of calligraphy. I wonder if the princess is willing to use his pen and ink? ”

"Oh," Pei Xiaoniang was a little disappointed.

However, the east is not bright and the west is bright, and Li Huaitang, who has always been indifferent to calligraphy and painting, seems to have suddenly become interested. "The surname Yan? Is there a name? ”

"Yan Zhenqing. Oh, so I have a letter from him. As he spoke, Lai Yao took out a letter raft from his bosom and handed it over.

Yan Ti has been famous for a long time and has been famous in the land of China for more than 1,000 years. Smiled and took the unfolding, Pei Xiaoniang came over curiously.

"Good word! That's so well written! "Appreciation came from Pei Xiaoniang's heart, her beautiful eyes focused on the letter raft, and the slender 'jade' hand stuffed the fork of the roast 'meat' into Li Huaitang's hand, and couldn't help but snatch the letter raft over.

The calligraphy on the raft is vigorous and vigorous, and there is a faint style of a famous artist.

"There seems to be traces of Chu Suiliang, there is no lack of Zhang Xu's rhyme, there is a sense that the blue is better than the blue, if he becomes a family, it may not be impossible for him to become a generation of grandmasters." Pei Xiaoniang tasted it slowly, and no one else had to give a high evaluation.

"Come, can you ask this friend of yours for some paper and ink? If you are overwhelmed, you will feel 'excited'. ”

Pei Xiaoniang happily put down the letter raft in her hand and looked at Lai Yao with considerable anticipation, the beauty of her expression and the softness made it impossible for the viewer to refuse.

One requires Woo's paper, and the other requires handwriting, and each takes what they need at a moment. Moreover, if he can serve the princess, of course Lai Yao will not refuse.

Pei Xiaoniang looked quite excited, and beckoned Xiao Pian to get the paper.

"The old man has made a lot of money, and he has exchanged pen and ink for a box of Wu's paper, and the general has lost money in this transaction, haha." Lai Yao stroked his long beard and smiled proudly, it is undoubtedly a thing worth showing off to be able to bargain in Li Huaitang's hands.

Hearing Yao say this, Pei Xiaoniang was a little embarrassed, and looked at Li Huaitang with an apologetic face, but saw Li Huaitang smiling and giving her a thumbs up. Pei Xiaoniang was surprised, obviously, Ailang agreed with her move. Surprises followed, and Ailang's evaluation was as sweet as honey to her heart.

"My husband has a superficial understanding of calligraphy and can't make any sense. However, this gentleman's calligraphy artistic conception is very high, and it feels like, like, by the way, every word is very vivid, as if it has been given life, and its potential can become Wang Xizhi's second, or even surpass it. I think that Ruoxi's unique vision has made a thousand-year deal, benefiting the future generations after a thousand years. ”

Lai Yao looked at this pair of 'women' singing husband in amazement, Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is dignified and beautiful and worthy of appreciation, but it is not exaggerated to the second level of Wang Xizhi, right?

At this time, Yan Zhenqing was still in the deep boudoir, and the book was in a self-contained stage, and in today's words, it is a potential stock that has not yet been IPO. Pei Xiaoniang shows off her wisdom and has a unique vision, relying on real kung fu; And Li Huaitang stood tall and saw far away, stained with the light of the prophet.

It is rare for someone to respect their own friends, and it is too late to be happy, and people are divided into groups, in this sense, appreciating friends is equivalent to putting gold on their faces.

The eternal truth, 'flower' and 'flower' sedan chairs are carried by everyone. At the front of the campfire, the enthusiasm of the compliments and laughter drowned out the crackling flames......

As the night deepened, I came to say goodbye, leaving behind an unfinished chatter.

The firelight reflected on Pei Xiaoniang's radiant face, and the light of happiness was refracted and 'shot'.

"Li Lang, is it true that you just said a thousand-year-old deal?"

Li Huaitang looked serious: "I didn't say this to make you happy, if Mrs. can't ask for Yan Zhenqing's true handwriting, my husband will also arrest him and let him wave dozens of pens to leave to our children and grandchildren." I'll sell it when the time comes, hehe, but it's worth a fortune......"

"Li Lang has fallen into the eyes of money." Pei Xiaoniang covered her mouth and smiled, "The concubine is looking at Yan Zhenqing's handwriting well, and she wants to ask for some as a calligraphy to paint a scoop for Li Lang to paint a gourd." ”

"That's it, Li Lang's handwriting is really, it's really miserable, it's time to practice well."

"Hehe, some people are still ashamed to teach Xiao Pian to write."

Linglong Shuangshu was happily squeezing on the side, and the two laughed together.

"It seems that I haven't used the family law for a few days, and the husband is sluggish." Li Huaitang grabbed Long'er's little lady, and her smile was worth playing.

Shang Long's cheeks suddenly flushed red, and he whispered for mercy again and again.

I don't know if it's because of jealousy, or out of sympathy, Pei Xiaoniang supported softly on the other side.

"Don't make a fuss, Li Lang, watch it!"

"By the way, the concubine doesn't understand, why does Li Lang collect tolls, how ugly this is, like a bandit, and there is not much profit, but he has ruined his reputation, and it is a good thing for the country and the people, how can it be contaminated with the smell of copper?"

Pei Xiaoniang quietly diverted Li Huaitang's attention, and also expressed the doubts in her heart.

"That's what I want for my husband!"

Pei Xiaoniang's eyes were confused, her eyes flashed, waiting for an answer.

"Fame is a rope around the neck, and the water of the Tang Dynasty is deep!" Li Huaitang is full of feelings, the more he has in his hands, the more cautious he must be, a powerful faction like him, in the eyes of outsiders, if he deliberately wins the hearts of the people, it is tantamount to seeking heaven! He is not stupid, and puts a deadly shackle on himself. Please keep in mind the URL, if you like "War Owl in Tang" written by the wolf under the moon