In the morning of Qingqing Palace, the heavy rain has stopped, and the air exudes the smell of earth and fish, which makes people refreshed, Li Qing has stood in front of the gate of the political hall of Xingqing Palace for nearly an hour, looking at a few peach trees with red and withered in a daze.

It was already past nine o'clock in the morning, but Li Longji's shadow had not been seen, 'Could it be that the emperor has not been in court since then?' Li Qing secretly thought, since Li Longji moved to Xingqing Palace, the daily morning court is gone, but in the past few days, the daily discussion has gradually changed to a three-day meeting, and it will end soon

'Li Qing! A crisp voice mixed with surprise interrupted his train of thought.

Looking back, a delicate face like a peach blossom appeared a zhang away, only to see that she was thick powder, her eyebrows were picturesque, but it was Yang Huahua, she was wearing a light yellow pomegranate flower dress, her chest was exposed, and she was draped in a light green scarf, which complemented the heavy and thick Tang royal style.

"Y-What are you doing here?" up.

"Naturally, I am waiting for the emperor's summons here."

Qingwei smiled, "I haven't seen the third sister for a long time, but I have become more and more noble, and I don't know each other anymore." ”

was praised by Li Qing, Yang Huahua's expression was a little shy, but she was a little worried: "I am me, how can I not know me, if you don't like it, I will change to the original appearance." ”

"The concubine's sister is naturally different from ordinary people, and this dress is more suitable for your identity, so I don't think you have to change back."

Li Qing was slightly surprised to see that Yang Huahua didn't have a palace maid or eunuch around her, "What is the third sister doing here alone?" ”

Yang Huahua sighed, she slowly walked to the peach tree, squatted down to pick up the petals on the ground, and her tone was a little sad, "I didn't know that I came here, I was such a blind person, just like this peach blossom after the rain, withering but I don't know where my destination is." ”

Li Qing couldn't help laughing, "The third sister is too exaggerated, believe it or not, as long as you shout, I, Yang Huahua, want to get married, and those Shangshu and waiters are allowed to line up in a long line to get married." ”

Yang Huahua squatted on the ground, glanced at Li Qing obliquely, her jade-like fingers drew circles in the soil, her white teeth like scallops gently bit her lip, and she asked in a low voice, "What about the household servant?" Will he come! ”

Li Qing smiled faintly, "Hubu Li Shilang is a pile of cow dung, he is not worthy of planting you to hide flowers, and Hubu Wei Shilang is a little too old, and his son is still young, I'm afraid it is not suitable!" ”

Yang Huahua smiled, slowly stood up and said coldly: "You came too early, the emperor slept late yesterday, and the hunting was a little cold, not to mention that it will take another half an hour to come." ”

After that, she ignored Li Qing, went straight through the flower path, and walked quickly towards the inner palace, but when she walked under the tree, she suddenly turned around, stared at Li Qing for a long time, shook her head and said, "You are a coward, even a woman is afraid!" ”

Li Qing kept watching her back disappear before he shrugged his shoulders helplessly, what I saw today, Yang Huahua was getting closer and closer to Mrs. Guo.

As Yang Huahua said, Li Qing waited for another half an hour before he saw the great eunuch Yu Chaoen running quickly, and when he saw him, he hurriedly shouted: "Li Shilang, the emperor has already entered the study, you come with me!" ”

Li Qing followed Yu Chaoen, walked quickly to the Qinzheng Palace, Li Longji's imperial study is located on the far left of the Qinzheng Palace, which has been heavily guarded, Li Qing after one after another the strictest search, finally walked into the imperial study, all kinds of documents in the room were piled up, Gao Lishi was kneeling on the two folds, hands and feet neatly sorted out the documents.

Li Qing saw that Li Longji was bowing his head in front of the imperial case to review a few copies of the recital, he hurriedly knelt down and said: Li Qing knocked to see His Majesty the Emperor! ”

"Excuse me! Give Li Shilang a seat. ”

Li Longji didn't raise his head, he only agreed casually, and after a while, he finished writing the last word, then put down the pen gently, rubbed his hands and smiled at Li Qing: "The people I hate the most are those imperial histories, every time they are either impeached or sued, they are not in a happy mood for a day, but Aiqing is the opposite, every time he comes, he will bring me good news." ”

He took out Li Qing's share of the recital from the drawer, and his excitement overflowed, "The happiest thing for me this year is that Aiqing's 600,000 guan salt tax has been released into Beijing, which has only been less than two months, plus Shuzhong, Jingxiang, Hedong, Shandong and other places, there have already been one million guan in the account, it seems that there is no need to wait for three years, this year's goal of 3 million guan can be completely achieved." ”

He couldn't help but get up and walk to the window, staring at the rich spring color of the courtyard, and couldn't help but sigh: "In fact, governing a big country is no different from holding a small family, the same worry about the embarrassment of the family, the reason why I agreed to you to implement the new salt law is really because the treasury is empty, and I don't have a meal after eating it, like a heavy lead stone, it is always pressed on my heart, this day without money makes it difficult for me to endure!." ”

He suddenly looked back at Li Qing, as if happy and complaining: "If this trend continues, you can receive it this year."

The salt tax, but you told me that it was only 2 million this year, and the gap is too big

Li Qing got up and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the new salt law is implemented, and the big salt merchants around the country are afraid that the price will be raised, and they will generally stock up on more goods.

It will take some time for these inventories to be digested, so this million is actually the tax overdraft for the last two months, and in a few months, if the price of salt stabilizes, the amount of salt should decline. On the other hand, the two million guanchen is estimated at a lower price, leaving a little leeway for himself, in fact, the minister knows in his heart that there is no problem with the salt tax of three million guan this year. ”

Li Longji nodded, sat back in his chair, looked relaxed, and said half-jokingly: "You are right, who will eat more salt if you have nothing to do, my Datang population is here, salt consumption is stable, and this salt tax should not change much, but from this matter, I found that our Datang's financial resources still have potential to be tapped, do you still have any good suggestions, and give me another surprise." ”

Li Qing smiled slightly, took out a notebook, and presented it with both hands, "The minister has a suggestion, which can not only make use of the surplus money of the people, but also strengthen the control of the imperial court over the locality. ”

"Stronger local control?"

Li Longji's relaxed expression gradually became serious, the fall of Sui was caused by the contradiction between the imperial court and the local government was too acute, the Tang Dynasty has been committed to strengthening the imperial court's control over the local area since the founding of the country, such as the personnel appointment power of grassroots officials to the imperial court, and such as restricting the power of the Hedong and Shandong clans, although various measures were taken, but the effect was not very ideal, especially the lack of financial resources of the imperial court under the conscription system, which led to the local army's raising of troops, which was another hidden danger, but today Li Qing suddenly raised this matter, which really surprised Li Longji.

Gao Lishi stepped forward to take Li Qing's recital, handed it to Li Longji, he waved his hand, ordered Li Qing to sit down first, and then opened the recital and read it carefully, the content is what Li Qing said to Li Linfu, the establishment of a national cabinet workshop, absorb private savings, but today Li Qing to Li Longji has added a lot of content, including extending the cabinet branch to each county, and the taxes collected by each county are directly handed over to the cabinet workshop, which is regarded as being handed over to the imperial court, and then the money and grain will be escorted into Beijing by the cabinet workshop's own system, and it will be unified by the household department. In fact, it is to return the local financial power to the imperial court in disguise, and to financially curb the development and growth of local forces, which is the real purpose of Li Qing, if we want to avoid the Anshi Rebellion and the future division of feudal towns, we must take a multi-pronged approach, and not give An Lushan and his ilk a chance to develop and grow in the system, and cut off their financial resources, which is also an effective method.

In addition, the currency circulation in the Tang Dynasty was relatively weak, such as the common people paying taxes, officials and so on were mostly in kind, so the rise of banks will also promote the circulation of money, and gradually reduce the number of physical transactions in the Tang Dynasty, which will greatly promote the development of the commodity economy.

Li Qing's suggestion was like opening a door, allowing Li Longji to see a scenery he had never seen before, and he understood that the weight and connotation of this twist and turn was actually to change the country's financial distribution system, and change the previous financial revenue and expenditure of the imperial court and the local government to go their separate ways, and then transfer them to the local government according to the local budget.

The room was unusually quiet, Gao Lishi stood aside and looked at Li Qing worriedly, from the degree of concentration of the emperor, he could deduce that what Li Qing played must be of great importance, if it involves the government, he should first go to Shangshu Province, and then to Zhongshu Province after the prime minister's preview of the eyebrow approval before it can be handed to the emperor, the implementation of the new salt law last time bypassed Li Linfu, and now he overstepped his authority again, again and again, once he was caught by Li Linfu, the emperor could not be protected, and it was inevitable to be blamed, it seems that he acted a little tenderer!

"This matter is very important, and I will only decide after consulting with the prime ministers."

Li Longji carefully put away the fold, looked at Li Qing for a long time, picked up his most beloved jasper paperweight from the imperial case and handed it to Li Qing. In the only wish is to let the world be peaceful, the people live and work in peace and contentment, let me entertain in the twilight of life, Aiqing is young and promising, I hope that Qing can be loyal to me and my descendants, this paperweight has been with me for 30 years, it is my most beloved thing, and I am now given to you, I hope you can remember my words today, and do not live up to my expectations. ”

Li Qing knelt down, raised his hands to take the paperweight, and said in a deep voice: "The ministers will never live up to Your Majesty's expectations, I hope Your Majesty can take care of the dragon body, and lead my Tang Dynasty subjects to continue the prosperity of the Kaiyuan Dynasty for ten thousand years!" ”

Li Longji nodded, "Well said!" I remember, go back! Rest for a few days, recuperate enough to work for me. ”