Today's Qi Wangfu seems to be different from usual, this point was found when Yang Lian entered the Qi Wangfu, the plaque of the Qi Wangfu was changed, the gilded characters were vigorous and powerful, it seemed to be Li Jing's handwriting, the gate was also repainted with vermilion paint, and the wall was also increased, a new atmosphere.

Yang Lian was a little puzzled, but he didn't ask, King Qi had a heart, so he would naturally tell him why there was such a change. After the two entered the Qi Palace, they went straight to the study to discuss the matter. Huairou hid, and returned to the boudoir with the appearance of a god, and his heart was really restless, if he received the holy decree, would he follow?

In the study, Yang Lian began to answer the question of King Qi, this time to the north, through Guangling, Chuzhou and other places, in various places, Yang Lian got off the boat, visited the people, so the situation of the people, a little heard, the misery of the people Yang Lian was deeply unfortunate.

After telling the King of Qi what he saw along the way, Yang Lian finally said: "The Tang Dynasty has expanded for thousands of miles, and Guangling and Chuzhou are like this, so you can imagine what kind of situation is it in Luzhou, Shouzhou, Guangzhou and other places?" If a country wants to exist for a long time, it must eliminate the rule of officials, reject a large amount of corruption, select people of insight, promote good officials who love the people like children, and use various means to cultivate land and raise mulberry and even vigorously support commerce, so that the people can become rich. Only when the people are rich can the country be strong. However, this is the case in Chuzhou, which is a frontier, and I am afraid that the situation in Shouzhou, Gwangju, Ezhou and other places is not much better. ”

Li Jing, the king of Qi, stroked his beard, nodded, and said, "What you said is not unreasonable, but if you want to clean up the officialdom, it can't be done overnight." Over the years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, various forces have been intertwined, including the courtiers left behind by the previous dynasty, the founding fathers and their heirs, and many of them even have heavy troops. Although the Tang Dynasty is not as unruly as the Han Kingdom, the festival is unruly, but it is always necessary to consider carefully when it comes to mobilizing the whole body. ”

Yang Lian nodded and said: "Yang Lian understands this truth, but he just thinks that the frontier is important, and it is natural to select capable people, so that the soldiers can use their lives and the people love them. ”

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, squinted his eyes and thought for a while, and said: "In this way, this king can meet with His Majesty and propose the selection of capable ministers, as for the rest, I'm afraid it is not a temporary success." ”

Yang Lian also knew that King Qi was not the emperor after all, and even if he was an emperor, he had to be thoughtful, Yang Lian proposed, just to express an attitude. Seeing King Qi say this, he had to sigh and said, "King Qi, this suggestion is just what Yang Lian thought for a while, naturally there are still things that have not been considered, and I hope that King Qi will forgive him." ”

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, smiled and said, "It's okay, you can say these words, which shows loyalty." How can this king blame you? ”

Yang Lian said with a smile: "This time I went north, the emperor of the Menghan Kingdom appreciated it and got a lot of property, some of which have been sent to the palace, and some of which will be sent to the palace of the king of Qi later, and I hope that the king of Qi will accept it with a smile." ”

Li Jing, the king of Qi, was stunned for a moment and said, "Why are you doing this?" You dye it is a reward from the emperor of the Han Kingdom, you keep it, and the king is not short of money. ”

"This is just a little bit of Yang Lian's heart, most of them are some specialties, they are all worthless things, King Qi should not refuse." Yang Lian said.

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, shook his head, thinking that he had already seen Yang Lian's so-called specialties in the palace, and those yellow, orange and orange gold were really dazzling. After thinking about it carefully, he smiled and said, "In this way, this king agreed." "I thought that His Majesty would give me a marriage, and these things should be regarded as a bride price, if Huairou got married, it would be a big deal to bring more dowry.

Where did Yang Lian know his thoughts, and when he saw him accept it, he said again: "King Qi, in fact, this time, I have one more thing, I want to please King Qi." ”

"What's the matter?" Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, asked, with some doubts in his heart.

"That's the case, this time I came back, passing through Chuzhou, that Chuzhou assassin Liu Yanzhen wants to tell the old man to return to his hometown, although I don't know much about this person, but I know that this person is a huge greed, but this person has something to do with Song Ge Lao, and it is not easy to move him, since he is willing to return to his hometown, it is better to let him return to Beijing, and Hai and Chu will choose another good minister." Yang Lian said seriously.

"Well, this Liu Yanzhen has heard of it." Obviously, as a party of Song Qiqiu and Feng Yansi, Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, knew some inside stories, and Yang Lian was his own person, so he told the matter: "This person has some ability to lead troops, but he has always been greedy, and he will honor Feng Yansi, Song Ge Lao and others a lot of money every year. With his money, he could not do so, thinking that it was to deduct military salaries or collect taxes. ”

"If taxes are levied, it will inevitably increase the burden on the people, and if military salaries are deducted, then there must be two possibilities: falsely reporting the number of people and reducing soldiers' salaries, but in either case, the army's combat effectiveness will inevitably be greatly reduced." Yang Lian analyzed.

Qi King Li Jingsui's face changed slightly, yes, if this is the case, whether it is the people or the army, they will inevitably complain about Datang.

"Although he has formed an alliance with the Han State now, and the crown prince Liu Chengyou also recognizes His Majesty as his adoptive father, a paper covenant only plays a binding role. If you really want to break the covenant, it's just a matter of words. Back then, Shi Chonggui and Yelude turned against each other, wasn't that the case? After all, the Han Kingdom is the world of the Shatuo people, and it is not much different from the stone Jingjiao and the stone Chonggui. Yang Lian shook his head.

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, fell into deep thought, and when he thought of this, he said, "Isn't that going to arrest Liu Yanzhen?" ”

"No, although this person is corrupt, he can't catch his evidence at all, and he does have some skills in the past few years. At least the Central Plains court did not go south on a large scale. However, I passed through Chuzhou, Xuzhou and other places this time, and I knew very well that there were a large number of bandits in these places, and they were hidden in the mountains, and there were thousands of them. Yang Lian shook his head.

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, gasped and said, "So much? ”

"Yes, that's exactly that. King Qi, if this bandit is not exterminated, it will always be a disaster. If one day the Tang Dynasty goes north to recover the Central Plains, these people are likely to become a hindrance to the Tang Dynasty - they hide in the rear, attack the Tang Dynasty's grain transportation team, and seize the military rations of the front-line soldiers. If this is the case, the great cause of the Northern Expedition is likely to be aborted. Yang Lian said.

"Hmm!" Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, snorted heavily, Yang Lian's words did give him a deep sense of crisis, Datang is the world of the Li family, and he, as the king of Qi of the Tang Dynasty, has the responsibility to remove all obstacles for Datang.

"So what do you want to do?" King Qi thought for a while and asked.

"King Qi, Yang Lian is just a petty official, and his words are not enough to change anything. It's just that he was deeply favored by the King of Qi, so he told the truth. King Qi, Yang Lian has a few ideas, and it will be more abrupt to say it. Yang Lian looked at King Qi's eyes and found that he seemed to be much more confident now.

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, smiled and waved his hand, and said, "Yang Lian, you just say that this king forgives you for your innocence." ”

"Since that's the case, Yang Lian is talking nonsense." Yang Lian smiled, bowed his hand to King Qi, and at the end, said: "First, reduce taxes, especially those of tea farmers and salt farmers, these people are really miserable, if you reduce the taxes by two percent, it will naturally be of great benefit." ”

"Second, send elite soldiers and strong generals to cooperate with the Han State to suppress bandits, presumably the Han State is also very willing, if these bandits are exterminated, one can reduce the bandits, and the other can let them make salt, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone."

"Third, to a certain extent, improve the salaries of officials, and at the same time clean up the source, if there are corrupt people in the future, there will be no forgiveness, and before that, you can not blame the past."

Yang Lian said three thoughts in a row, and then looked at Li Jingsui, the king of Qi.

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, listened carefully when Yang Lian spoke, and when he saw that he was silent, he asked, "Are you finished?" ”

"That's all that, I'll only think of these few ways for the time being." Yang Lian said.

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, raised his fingers and said, "Let's talk about the first one first, I can call the shots in this matter, but it is a bit too much to reduce it by two percent, and it is reduced by one percent, what do you think?" ”

Yang Lian nodded and said, "It's better than not lowering, one percent is one percent." ”

"Then the second point, this king agrees very much, this king will talk to the imperial brother tomorrow, ask him to repair a letter to the emperor of the Han State, and then order the assassins and festival envoys in various places bordering the Han State to inform the Han State and jointly suppress the bandits, if the Han State agrees, they can act together." Li Jing then raised a second finger.

"Thank you, King Qi." Yang Lian said.

"As for the third, I'm afraid not, in the past few years, the imperial court has moved troops one after another, and the treasury is very empty, if it is giving officials a salary increase, I am afraid the burden will not be light. As for the original source, you need to take your time. Yang Lian, don't worry, this king has ambitions in this regard, and he will naturally support you strongly. You don't have to be too anxious, now that this king is in charge of the military and politics, most things can be taken care of, just report to the royal brother afterwards. Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, said with a smile, although the third point could not be implemented, it gave Yang Lian a hope.

Yang Lian couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, and said, "King Qi, has Your Majesty handed over the military administration to King Qi?" ”

"It's not a handover, it's an auxiliary, and now this king has been named the emperor's younger brother by His Majesty, and he has the right to assist in handling government affairs." Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, smiled, his eyes full of hope.

Yang Lian hurriedly stood up, saluted King Qi, and said, "Yang Lian congratulates His Royal Highness King Qi!" ”

"Hehe, sit down, you don't have to be polite, it's mostly due to your credit." Li Jing, the king of Qi, stroked his beard and smiled.

Although the Son of Heaven swore an oath in front of the Liezu Zi Palace, he was hesitant, after all, Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, had a somewhat weak personality, and it seemed that he was not a Ming Jun. Therefore, Li Jing has not set up an imperial brother for a long time. But the rise of Yang Lian made the Son of Heaven change his mind. Yang Lian was recommended by the King of Qi, and with Yang Lian's meritorious service in Changzhou and the success of negotiations with the Han State, Li Jing felt that Li Jingsui had the wisdom to know people.

As a king, he can not be a fierce general, he can not be an eloquent lobbyist, he only needs to have a few skills, and knowing and employing people is the most important, in Li Jing's view, Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, did a good job this time, so he made up his mind.

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, laughed and told the matter, Yang Lian couldn't help laughing: "This is all due to the benevolence of the king of Qi." ”

"Yang Lian, you don't have to be modest, in fact, since this king met you, he feels a lot luckier." Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, laughed.

Yang Lian smiled and said, "King Qi, Yang Lian will leave first today." ”

"Hey, don't worry, you will have dinner in the house today, and this king still has something to say to you." Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, said with a smile.

"What else is the matter with King Qi?" Yang Lian couldn't help asking, he was a little anxious, and wanted to go back first to see if Fu Jinzhan had settled down, but unfortunately King Qi didn't give him this opportunity.

Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, smiled and said, "This matter, let's talk about it when we eat." You go and see Huairou first. ”

Yang Lian frowned, I don't know why King Qi said this? But after thinking about it, he stood up, said goodbye, and went to find Huairou.

At this time, Princess Huairou was staying in the boudoir, sitting in front of the bronze mirror, looking at herself in the bronze mirror, her eyes were a little confused. His Majesty gave marriage, according to the holy decree of the Son of Heaven, naturally no one dared to resist, and the thought of marrying Yang Lian soon, Princess Huairou's heart was pounding, and she couldn't stop at all.

The maid on the side looked at Huairou's appearance, couldn't help but smile, and said, "County Lord, are you thinking about the son of that family?" The slave maid heard that Yang Gongzi had returned to Beijing. ”

"Which pot is not opened, which pot is mentioned!" This is the thought in Princess Huairou's heart, and she couldn't help glaring at the maid, snorted coldly, and said, "You know a lot." ”

The maid glanced at her county lord in some surprise, why did she have such an expression? Something doesn't seem right. Seeing that the county lord was still in a daze, he stretched out his pink palm, shook it in front of Huairou's eyes, and said, "County lord? ”

"What county lord, from today onwards, the county lord has been promoted to a princess." Huairou snorted coldly.

The maid said "ah" and said busily: "Princess? The slave congratulated the princess. ”

Huairou scolded with a smile and said, "You don't have to be like this, alas! ”

Saying that, the county lord of Huairou still held his cheeks in his hand, and looked at himself in the bronze mirror stupidly, that face was so delicate and moving, but would he choose? Or rather, will he love himself? But so what? After all, he is a courtier of the Tang Dynasty, and the marriage of the Son of Heaven, how dare he refuse? As long as you can be with him, that's enough, what else is there to be delusional? As long as they get along for a long time, he will definitely like him.

Princess Huairou thought a lot, and this mood of suffering from gains and losses made her unable to lift her spirits at all.

"Bang Bang Bang!" At this moment, there was a knock on the door.

The maid glanced at the demented princess, and hurriedly walked over, and said as she walked, "Who?" ”

"It's me, Yang Lian." Yang Lian said outside the door, his voice was very loud.

"Ah, it's Yang Lian? Don't open the door! Hearing the names of the people outside, Princess Huairou reacted immediately and immediately screamed.

The maid stopped, glanced back at the princess, and saw the princess stand up, walk quickly to the edge of the wardrobe, and while looking for clothes, she said, "Quick, come and help me, what are you still doing?" ”

The maid said "ah" and ran over quickly. The two of them rummaged through the cabinets, quickly looking for clothes.

"This one? How about this one? Or else, this one? Ah, then this one, he must like it, quick, put it on for me. For a while, the new princess was very busy. (To be continued.) )