Then Liu Bang waved his hand and told the ministers to disperse one after another, leaving Chen Ping and Xiao He alone in the front hall of Weiyang Palace.

Sitting on the dragon couch, Liu Bang rubbed his temples lightly with one hand, put the other hand on his knees leisurely, his eyebrows were tightly locked, his eyes were stunned and stared at the bamboo slips played on several cases, looked at it for a while, sighed and looked at Xiao He and Chen Ping who were standing quietly in front of them, and the two of them bowed their heads and waited there.

"Ahem-" Liu Bang said with a dry cough, "Gong Chen thinks it's wrong in the Qi Kingdom?" ”

Chen Ping immediately stepped forward and bowed down, "The minister has indeed heard that Qi Guo raised prices first. ”

"Here you go." Liu Bang sat up straight and asked Chen Ping to step forward, and handed Chen Ping the performance of Qi on the case, "Look at the performance of Qi State." ”

"Wow-" opened the song, and jumped a few lines on the song: the subject country raised the price of salt is really a helpless move, Huainan Changsha privately sold things to the other party at a low price, but the subject country bought other countries' things, but the coins were as much as thirty percent higher, and felt helpless, raising the price of salt to sell other countries for mutual benefit.

'Huh-', Chen Ping closed the music again, and his eyelids blinked a few times before he lost his sound. Xiao He stepped forward to take the music in Chen Ping's hand, and after reading it, he was also confused, and put the music on the case.

There was silence in the temple. "What are the princes of the East doing?" Liu Bang knocked on the case unhappily and turned aside.

Xiao He glared at Chen Ping, Chen Ping ignored it, just buried his head in thought, and then said, "I'm afraid the reason for this is not clear." The minister has a little opinion, I don't know if that's the case. ”

Liu Bang waved his hand and told him, "Hurry up and listen." ”

"When the wine was not young, the king of Huainan had said that in recent years, the fishery harvest is not good, the rain is less so that the production of bamboo slips is very little, the silk weaving industry in Huainan is not more developed than other countries, the abundance of silk weaving industry is mainly concentrated in several production areas in the Yellow River Basin, splendid Xiangyi, Luo Qi Chaoge, Mianyuan house, the total Qinghe, the silk weaving industry in the south is mainly rich in Shu. There are no items available for sale in Huainan and they have to bid to buy silk fabrics from Shudi, and the salt is insufficient to buy from Qi, and the treasury is not sufficient, which is the situation of Huainan; Changsha has a developed silk weaving industry, sufficient rice, rich in bamboo, nanmu, rhino horn, tortoiseshell items, missing jade, BMW, felt fur, wild hemp and other things can be purchased from Liang and Zhao, and fish and salt need to be purchased from Qi and Zhao, which is the situation of Changsha; The hemp silk industry of the Liang State is better, the copper and iron lacquer pottery is better, the missing tortoiseshell, nanmu, rhino horn and other things can be purchased from the Changsha State, and the salt needs to be purchased from the Qi State and the Zhao State, which is the situation of the Liang State. It is not that the above vassal states cannot produce salt in the country, but they are not as fine as the salt grains of Qi and Zhao. The lack of rain in the previous year caused the production of goods in the vassal states to be much less than in previous years, and the economy did not increase but decreased, but the salt industry had no great impact, especially the salt in the near land of Qi. Huainan Changsha Liang State is a disaster country, and it is privately agreed that the price of selling to the other country will be reduced to reduce the economic burden of each other's countries, and the disaster will have no impact on Qi countries, so the price of things sold by Huainan and other countries to Qi countries remains unchanged. When the Qi State learned the news, he was furious and angrily reprimanded Huainan and other countries for being insincere, and the minister knew that Prime Minister Cao Shen had dissuaded the King of Qi from buying things from other countries at the price, but the Queen of Qi said in every possible way that the princes deceived the Qi State, and the price of Nanmu purchased by Qi from Changsha State was thirty percent higher than that purchased by Huainan State from Changsha State, so Qi State raised the price of salt in anger, which should be roughly like this. Chen Ping told Liu Bang word for word about the reasons for the increase in the price of salt in Qi that he analyzed in his heart, which was quite reasonable.

Liu Bang couldn't help but nod again and again when he heard this, his face softened, and when he heard the end, he laughed, and patted the case and said, "Chen Gongguo is reasonable, probably so." What did the prime minister say? He asked Xiao He with a smile. After listening to what Chen Ping said, Xiao He had already recognized Chen Pingzhi's words in his heart, so he also stepped forward and said, "What Qu Weihou said is reasonable. ”

"Haha-" Two long laughs, said to Chen Ping, "The affairs of the Qi State will ask the prince to go in person, as for the right to collect the salt production to the Han Court, it is impossible, I will personally write an edict in a while, it is more appropriate for you to go than others." In the past, you were my military advisor, and you have repeatedly offered advice and good work, so you will go to the Kingdom of Qi to guide the king of Qi, and warn him not to act recklessly again, and to make a decision after consulting with Prime Minister Cao Cheng on everything. Liu Bang had already thought about it in his heart, and felt that the candidate for this trip to Qi was none other than Chen Ping, and only by letting him go to Qi in person could he completely let King Qi understand what Liu Bang wanted to say.

Chen Ping was stunned at first, but he didn't expect that he still needed to go to Qi Country to explain this matter in person, so he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed down to listen to Liu Bang's instructions. Glancing at Liu Bang with his eyes, he saw that he was taking a pen and pulling out a roll of silk to write an edict. Chen Ping asked cautiously, "If you go to Qi Kingdom, you must first pass by Liang Kingdom, does the emperor want to go to Liang Kingdom to have a look?" He bowed even more, waiting for Liu Bang's answer.

The hand that was holding the pen suddenly stopped, looked at the silk silk under his hand, thought about it with a stirring mouth, met Chen Ping's waiting gaze, suddenly smiled, pointed at Chen Ping and said, "Chen Gongye, who knows me." The prince has his own decision, I know that the prince will do everything for me. ”

Giving Chen Ping an answer that was neither salty nor light, Chen Ping smiled faintly and bowed back to the place.

After Liu Bang finished writing the edict, the last line of words on the silk was stamped with the seal of the eight characters of 'Ordered by the Heaven and Longevity Yongchang'. Carefully rolled it up, got up and handed it to Chen Ping with his own hands, and told him again and again, "Be careful, I am waiting for your happy return." ”

Chen Ping solemnly took the edict in Liu Bang's hand with both hands, hid it in his spacious sleeves, nodded to Liu Bang and said firmly, "The minister will live up to his holy order." ”

"Okay." Liu Bang put his hand on Chen Ping's shoulder and patted it to show his trust and expectation.

After explaining Chen Ping's affairs about Qi Guo, Liu Bang stopped his eyes on Xiao He, Xiao He was the same age as him, and he also had a beard full of vicissitudes, wrinkles crawled at the corners of his eyes, his hands were tightly interlocked, and he stood with his head bowed.

Liu Bang crossed Chen Ping and stopped beside Xiao He, "Prime Minister Xiao, regarding the matter of the Yanmen County Guard, you will personally make arrangements, when Wang Suck will leave, what to bring and what not to bring, and some documents and appointments, the Prime Minister will personally arrange them." It's just that Yanmen lives in the north, and it would be bad if it was suddenly attacked by the Huns, didn't General Wang Su have two children, a boy and a woman? Then stay in Chang'an, don't let General Wang have no heirs, I can't do such a thing. As for Guan Xiuyan, I haven't summoned him to the palace yet, it is estimated that he will not be able to go with General Wang Su, he still has to meet his sister, and he doesn't know when he will meet again, of course, they will not come back, and I will ask them to return to Chang'an after the term of office expires. ”

Liu Bang has already planned everything carefully, and he has said so much, which is interlocking. said high-sounding words in their mouths, but in fact, Xiao He and Chen Ping could hear what they meant. Xiao He buried his head lower, and said respectfully, "The minister obeys the order." ”

Xiao He knew that Liu Bang was using him as a shield, what Yanmen County lived in the north, and what left General Wang Su's children in Chang'an, he was afraid that Wang Sug would also break away from the center of the Han Court like Han Wangxin and Zang Di, and quietly rebelled against him in the north, so leaving Wang Su's children in Chang'an was to make Wang Sug feel that he still had concerns in Chang'an, so he would not rebel. Guan Xiuyan, although Xiao He didn't know what Liu Bang thought, he knew that Liu Bang must have his own ideas when he did this, and he would not transfer a person with a foreign surname to Yanmen as a county guard for no reason.

In fact, Liu Bang had already guessed that the gathering of the palace gate to make trouble with the queen a few days ago must have been instigated by Guan Xiuyan, he really couldn't think of anyone else who would do this, Mrs. Qi had no relatives outside the palace, and her only father was dead; Zhao Meiren is the same, she is an orphan and her parents died early; Mrs. Bo is also a virtuous concubine in Liu Bang's eyes, she never plays these tricks to frame the queen and others, she has long isolated herself from the harem and never intervenes in these things; Shi Meiren's younger brother is Wan Shijun Shi Fen, Shi Fen is humble and respectful, it stands to reason that she will not be like this. The only thing left is Mrs. Guan, just a few days ago, Mrs. Guan begged him to summon his younger brother into the palace, but he didn't agree to it at the beginning, and it was Mrs. Guan who agreed to Guan Xiuyan to enter the palace after playing tricks. As soon as Guan Xiuyan entered the palace, and then left, there was something about Lu Ling, who else would it be if it wasn't for Guan Xiuyan. How wrong Mrs. Guan and Guan Xiuyan are, they are also the people they should protect, and they understand that the queen will not give up, so they want to send Guan Xiuyan away.

What Liu Bang said was that he wanted to be a bad person, and Xiao He knew that Liu Bang wanted to ask him to leave one of General Wang Su's children. Liu Bang didn't say it when he was in the court, that was because he would be a man, he didn't say it in front of the courtiers, and then left Xiao He and Chen Ping alone, and there was something in the words to imply Xiao He, Xiao He was not a stupid person, of course he knew what Liu Bang meant.

After that, a small eunuch in the inner hall brought Liu Bang some snacks and respectfully put them on a few cases. Seeing that he had arranged everything, Liu Bang was in a good mood, and pointed to the things on a few cases and asked Xiao He and Chen Ping to come and eat, "The things made by the chef are good, and the prime minister and Chen Gong will also come and taste them." After that, he grabbed a piece of dim sum and ate it, and licked his fingers after eating, it seemed to be really delicious, and the residual dim sum particles were all over the corners of his mouth, and his tongue was immediately clean when he licked it.

Xiao He and Chen Ping both bowed their heads and refused to eat, "The minister really doesn't dare to accept this grace." ”

Liu Bang looked at the two of them with a smile and continued to eat. Xiao He and Chen Ping lowered their heads and glanced at each other, pursed their lips, and each looked down at the ground silently and listened to the emperor's mouth. "If nothing happens, the prime minister and Chen Gong can go back." Liu Bang said with a full mouth. "The ministers are leaving." Xiao He and Chen Ping both bowed deeply to Liu Bang and withdrew from the front hall. The sun was shining outside, and it was extremely warm, and the two of them walked down the 100-meter-long steps with different colors.

"It's like, I shouldn't recommend General Wang to fill the vacancy in Yanmen, the emperor doesn't trust others so much, General Wang only has two children in his family, and he has no daughter-in-law, how can General Wang accept it? Besides, what kind of character is that Guan Xiuyan, I heard that he walks around Chang'an Avenue all day long, he doesn't know a single big character, and he is a little ruffian, how can he be a county leader? Speaking of this, Xiao He spread his hands and sighed, and remembered that when Chu and Han were fighting for hegemony, in order to dispel Liu Bang's worries, Xiao He put all his children into Liu Bang's military camp as hostages, which was a manifestation of Liu Bang's disbelief in him, and also a manifestation of Liu Bang's fear that he would gain popularity. Xiao He shook his head helplessly, and continued meaningfully, "Maybe the emperor has never trusted others, including you and me. ”

Xiao He turned his head and looked at Chen Ping meaningfully. Chen Ping's eyebrows were slightly raised, his expression was indifferent and insignificant, but he was not so negative and complaining, and the corners of his mouth raised and said, "What the prime minister said is not unreasonable, I just hope that the prime minister will look away, even if it is not General Wang Su, there will be other people who go to Yanmen." As for the emperor's child Yu Chang'an, it was just a means for kings to consolidate the empire and consolidate their power, and it was also a last resort, after all, there were lessons from the past, didn't it? Speaking of this, he smiled and said, "Besides, our emperor is not a faint monarch, but he understands it very well, no emperor wants to be an emperor who is scolded by everyone, so he has to take care of the dirty water by others." The political wisdom of our emperor is not inferior to that of any emperor in ancient times, but the descendants have their own conclusions. As for whether it is trusted or not, I don't think it is very important, and it is great wisdom to be able to handle the relationship between the minister and the monarch with ease. ”

Xiao He opened his mouth slightly when he heard this, looked at Chen Ping in place, and came back to his senses after a while, but Chen Ping smiled mysteriously and threw off his wide robe and big sleeves and strode down the steps.

"Chen Gong has his own set of survival principles." Xiao He realized that Chen Ping's words were indeed similar to Chen Ping's usual behavior style, it doesn't matter whether he trusts or not, the emperor and his courtiers are simply playing tricks, so it depends on who is the best at exploiting the gap and who is the best at handling things.