"Uncle Dou Ying~"

"If you only talk about talent and qualifications, if your father has to pay homage to the prime minister, in fact, it is not impossible?"

"——Whether it is literary talent or martial strategy, or qualifications, martial arts, and Wei Qihou, there is nothing lacking."

"Even compared with back then, Marquis Zhang Wu, who almost succeeded the Marquis of Beiping, and Marquis Wei Qihou as prime minister, they still have the advantage of 'martial arts'."

"Therefore, not letting Wei Qihou be the prime minister is actually not because of a lack of talent and qualifications······

After arriving at the Shanglin Palace, in the afternoon of the same day, Tianzi Qi, Liu Sheng, father and son, who had already changed into regular clothes, appeared near the field not far from the palace.

Walking on the field path with his hands in his hands, feeling the sultry heat of midsummer, there was only a burst of comfort on the face of the Son of Heaven.

Liu Sheng's gentle voice came from his ears, which made a shallow smile hang on the corners of Tianziqi's mouth.

With a slight nod, he turned sideways with a smile, and cast his expectant gaze to Liu Sheng beside him again.

Feeling the expectation in the eyes of the Son of Heaven, Liu Sheng also smiled, and then continued: "The imperial grandmother wants Wei Qihou to be the prime minister, but there is actually no incomprehensible reason. ”

"——As the speaker of the Dou family's relatives, seeking positions and rights in the court for the Dou family's relatives is something that the emperor's grandmother will definitely do."

"This is not only for the imperial grandmother to consolidate her own power, but also to consolidate the position of the emperor."

"After all, compared with courtiers with foreign surnames, maternal relatives are always more worthy of the trust of their father."

"So it's not just the prime minister, the position of the minister of the court, no matter which position is vacant, the emperor's grandmother Dou will definitely try to see if she can let the children of the Dou family take up key positions in the court."

"This is the case with the Empress Dowager Lu when Emperor Xiaohui, the Empress Dowager Bo at the time of the first emperor, and the same is true for the current emperor's grandmother and future mother······"

Liu Sheng's confident tone only provoked Tianziqi to nod with a smile, and between his eyebrows, it was rare to have a touch of relaxation and cheerfulness.

- Recently, there have been too many things that make Tianziqi feel bad······

It is rare to have time to walk out of Chang'an, go to Lin Yuan to breathe, and hear Liu Sheng's point of view so directly to the point, I feel a sense of comfort in my heart.

Smiled and nodded, then withdrew his gaze from Liu Sheng, put his hands behind his back, looked down at the road under his feet, and said softly: "Hmm; ”

"Go on."

Seeing Liu Sheng smile and lower his head, he pondered for a moment before continuing: "When Emperor Taizu Gao died, Emperor Xiaohui was young; ”

"In order to help Emperor Xiaohui consolidate his power, Empress Dowager Lü used Lü Chan, Lü Tai, Lü Lu and other Lü sons and nephews to serve in key positions inside and outside the court and the opposition."

"Although after the death of the Empress Dowager Lu, Lu Chan and Lu Lu had bad thoughts and almost subverted the Zongmiao and Sheji, but when Emperor Xiaohui succeeded to the throne at a young age, he still stabilized the status and power of Emperor Xiaohui."

···

"When the first emperor arrived, Chen Ping, Zhou Bo and other powerful ministers who welcomed the first emperor controlled the government, and the first emperor wanted to take power, but he couldn't do it because of these two people."

"At this time, it was also the late Empress Dowager Bo who stood up and appointed Bo Zhao as the general of the chariot and cavalry, and mastered the military power for the first emperor."

"Although later, Bo Zhao got carried away and became more and more domineering, but during the period when the first emperor first came to Chang'an, Bo Zhao, a relative of his maternal family, also helped the first emperor consolidate his authority."

···

"Then the first emperor died, and my father inherited the throne, the situation was slightly different."

"—My father succeeded to the throne at the age of thirty-one, and he was already in his prime; has been a prince for more than 20 years, and he has long been full-fledged; ”

"Therefore, the father does not need to rely on the power of his maternal relatives to consolidate his power, and he does not use the Dou family's relatives too much."

"During the Wu Chu Rebellion, the Marquis of Wei Qi was the general because of the importance of Xingyang-Aocang, which made it difficult for my father to trust outsiders;"

"As for letting Wei Qihou be the crown prince and let Nanpihou be Fengchang, it is simply out of the consideration of appeasing the Dou family and appeasing the emperor's grandmother."

"-After all, for the father, it is not very necessary to use the maternal relatives to control the court;"

"In addition to Wei Qihou and Nanpihou, the people who can serve as the crown prince and the prince and the general are not without two choices······

Hearing the end, the relieved smile between the Son of Heaven and his eyebrows finally reached the bottom of his eyes.

Naturally put his hand on Liu Sheng's shoulder, and continued to walk forward, taking advantage of the conversation as he walked.

"yes~"

"—Maternal relatives, whether it is useful or not, must be used."

"If it is necessary, it is to help yourself; There's no need to use it, it's to appease the mother. ”

"Of course;"

"Use it for use, and you can't use it indiscriminately."

"No matter how you say it, you have to put your maternal relatives in a position that is almost competent and controllable."

···

"For example, Lu Chan and Lu Lu when the Empress Dowager Lu, and Bo Zhao when the first emperor, not to mention - just in terms of the ability to take charge of the army, these three people have nothing to find out wrong."

"It is today's Dou Ying and Dou Pengzu, who are also the best among the Dou family's sons and nephews."

"——In terms of talent, whether it is the general during the Wu Chu Rebellion, the previous crown prince and the princess, or the prime minister mentioned by the Queen Mother yesterday, Dou Ying, they are all barely competent."

"As for Nanpihou Dou Pengzu, although he doesn't have any great talent, he is still a good person."

···

"If it's not Rong's business, Dou Ying, the prince and concubine, is actually very suitable."

"——On learning, Dou Ying can teach you;"

"Adding the background of a Dou relative, and making Dou Ying the prince and concubine, can deepen the bond between you and the Dou family, and is conducive to consolidating your position as the prince."

"It's a pity that Dou Ying's awkward temperament ······"

"Hi ······"

With a long sigh of melancholy, he saw Tianzi Qi stop for a moment and withdraw his hand from Liu Sheng's shoulder;

Put your hands behind your back again, look into the distance, and let out a long sigh.

"Dou Ying, ······"

"If it weren't for my relatives—not my maternal relatives, I wouldn't have been able to tolerate him."

"As for letting Dou Ying be the prime minister······"

"It's not that no, no;"

"It's not time yet."

···

"-It's not time~"

"Hey!"

"If you let the Dou family be the prime minister now, then in the future, when your kid succeeds to the throne, it will be troublesome······"

"Dou Ying, the prime minister, depends on whether your kid can tolerate it."

"If you can tolerate it, just wait for you to succeed to the throne, and let him be prime minister for a few more years;"

"But I will never let a person who is dissatisfied with the prince and may be unfavorable to the prince be my prime minister."

"Even if this person is a relative of my maternal family······"

Inexplicably, there were some gloomy words, but Liu Sheng couldn't help but be moved.

lowered his head with mixed faces, but finally didn't hold back his impulse, and looked sideways at Tianzi Qi with a little gratitude;

Feeling Liu Sheng's grateful gaze towards him, Tianzi Qi laughed coldly, and shook his head again.

"I'm not for you."

"It's for the crown prince of my Han family."

"Whoever becomes the prince will do the same."

Hearing this, Liu Sheng's face did not diminish in the slightest, and he only smiled and raised his head: "Ke Erchen is now the prince of my family; ”

"So, my father rejected the emperor's grandmother's proposal for the sake of his son?"

But seeing the Son of Heaven shaking his head with a smile, he raised his hand slightly, and pointed to the figures between the fields that the father and son were very familiar with;

took the lead and walked along the ridge towards the old tree, and as he walked, he did not forget to say indifferently: "Under the whole world, tens of millions of people are my people. ”

"—but you're not."

"You are the only one who is my crown prince and prince······"

···

"You can treat me as your father, or you can treat me as your king."

"But I will never treat you as my own son."

"——Tens of millions of people in the world, anyone can be my son, but you can't."

"You're the only one, just my crown prince······"

···

It is precisely for this reason that the queen mother did not insist too much; As soon as I said, 'Wei Qihou can't do it', the queen mother didn't mention it again. ”

"Because the queen mother also knows: my Han family, there can't be a prime minister who doesn't want to see the prince."

"-The queen mother, I treat you as my grandson, but I haven't forgotten you either, you are the prince of my Han family."

"And you, too, keep that in mind······"

"Remember who you are, and the responsibilities and missions on your shoulders ······"

Mo Min's solemn words finally made Liu Sheng quietly remove the smile on his face and nod his head thoughtfully.

The relaxed smile that still existed between the eyebrows was replaced by a solemn look in the blink of an eye.

With a heavy heart, he followed Tianzi Qi and came to the familiar old tree, and the father and son were not surprised to see those old farmers again.

Seeing that Dad was the same as last time, looking for a place under the roots of the tree, he sat down with his ass, and Liu Sheng could only put aside his thoughts for the time being, and gave a little to the old men.

"Yo!"

"This is the crown prince, right?"

Without waiting for Liu Sheng to open his mouth to say goodbye, several old men said a word to you and a word to me, and commented on Liu Sheng;

And for this situation, the Son of Heaven is obviously happy to hear about it······

"That year, I said that Your Majesty would definitely set up this son!"

"—yes, yes!"

"-Look at these eyebrows, but they are becoming more and more like Your Majesty!"

There was a conversation of several old people in his ears, but it only caused Tianzi Qi to straighten up with a smile, take a deep breath, and lean his upper body to the side without any scruples, and propped his elbows on the ground nonchalantly.

Following the gaze of several people, he also looked at Liu Sheng, although there was a touch of relief on his face, but his mouth was quite contrived 'self-humble'.

"Hi~"

"The big ones are out of business, and I really can't do anything;"

"He set up this bastard, and he should be a son of a dwarf."

"-Let's teach it slowly~"

"The others, I really can't look at ······"

With Tianzi Qi's helpless words, the eyes of several old men had already carefully looked Liu Sheng up and down.

Hearing the sentence of Tianzi Qi's 'Pulling out the stalk in the dwarf', several old men even smiled;

Seeing Liu Sheng sit down beside Tianziqi, he smiled and looked at Tianziqi who was already lying on his side.

"Your Majesty, you wouldn't say that, would you?"

"I heard that the prince did the matter of pacifying the grain?"

The old farmer's words made Tianzi Qi smile for a while, and raised the corners of his eyebrows quite proudly;

Tsundere raised her head, and asked instead of answering, "How?" ”

"After the beginning of spring, can you eat cheap grain?"

was asked by the Son of Heaven like this, and several old farmers began to talk about this matter again and again.

Speaking of which, in fact, it is just one sentence: at the beginning of spring this year, the grain price in Guanzhong has not risen at all!

Compared with previous years, the grain price in Guanzhong this year is at most less than ten yuan per stone;

Considering that last year, Guanzhong suffered a large area of poor harvest due to the Wuchu Rebellion, this increase is obviously completely within the acceptable range.

In addition, these old people's families have so many sons and grandchildren, who set up martial arts in last year's Wu Chu Rebellion and won a lot of rewards, and the price of food has risen so much, let alone a problem.

For such a situation, Tianziqi obviously expected it, and the reason why he asked this was just to hear the sentence 'food prices have not risen, everything is fine' from the mouths of these old guys.

As he wished to hear what he wanted to hear, Tianziqi was even more happy, so he simply moved his body directly, and sat down with his back against the roots.

Not far from Tianzi Qi, listening to several old men talking about food, Liu Sheng's heart moved slightly, and he also raised his head with a smile.

"This year's food prices are barely stable."

"In the future, the court plans to always have a permanent commander of the Su Duwei, buy grain from the farmers in Guanzhong after the autumn harvest, and then sell the grain after the beginning of spring."

"——The price of buying and selling is parity, and the difference will not exceed ten cents per stone."

"Do you think this will make food prices stable for a long time?"

Asking with a smile, Liu Sheng did not forget to make a posture of 'listening to his ears', and quietly waited for the replies of several old men.

Hearing Liu Sheng's question, several old men looked at each other for a moment, and they also fell into a short period of thought.

For Liu Sheng, several old men are not 'never met';

——A few years ago, Tianzi Qi took Liu Sheng to Shanglin Yuan to visit these old people.

Although Liu Sheng was only 'Gongzi Sheng' at that time, that meeting alone left a pretty good first impression of Liu Sheng in the hearts of several old men.

And now, Liu Sheng has become the prince, and at the beginning of this year, he presided over the pacification of Guanzhong grain.

At this moment, Liu Sheng asked the opinions of several old people about food, which made several people feel closer to Liu Sheng, and a sense of sacred mission was inexplicably born in their hearts.

——Liu Sheng's question is asking the people in Quanguan!

And a few old men, on behalf of the millions of households and millions of peasants in the entire Guanzhong, gave their views on the 'Zhisu Duwei' to the crown prince Liu Sheng.

It is true that the replies of a few old men may not really change anything;

But even the slightest possibility also gave birth to a sense of sacred mission in the hearts of several old men, similar to 'this opportunity must not be wasted'.

So, the old men did not rush to answer;

Instead, he frowned and thought for a long time, and only then did the eldest of them bow his hand to Liu Sheng with a serious face.

"Since the prince asked, then the old man, let's try to talk about it."

"It is certainly a good thing to have a permanent governor of Su, to buy the people's grain after the autumn harvest and to sell it to the people after the beginning of spring;"

"If we do this every year, the price of grain in Guanzhong should never be raised by grain merchants again."

"But then again: in the past, the grain business in Guanzhong was only done by businessmen, and it was not unreasonable······

As he spoke, the old man did not forget to look at the rest of his old friends again;

After hearing the old man's words, Liu Sheng also turned pale, stretched out his hand to the old man with a serious face, and made a 'please' gesture.

"Please also ask the old man to speak freely."

I saw the old man nodding his head thoughtfully, and muttering for a moment before he raised his head with a sad face.

"Since ancient times, this is what farmers are most afraid of;"

"-- The grain is cheap and hurts the peasants, and the grain is expensive and hurts the peasants."

"The meaning of this sentence is: When there is a good harvest, the price of grain will be very low, and the peasants will not be able to sell it at a good price;"

"If the grain harvest fails, the price of grain will be very high, and although it can be sold at a price, it is very likely that the farmers themselves will not be able to eat the grain they grow."

"Therefore, whether there is a good harvest or not, farmers will always have a hard time."

"The harvest is better—the grain is not worth selling for, but it is still worth eating;"

"But if the harvest fails, if the peasants want to survive, they will probably have to sell their fields, houses, and even their sons and daughters······

···

"The previous emperors of our Han family were very kind to the peasants, and whenever there was a situation where the price of grain was boiling, they would open a warehouse and sell grain at a low price to stabilize the price of grain and give the peasants a way to live."

"What the prince said about governing Su Duwei is actually this truth."

"But there is a problem that may force the peasants to still sell their grain to the merchants, not to the governors of the Su.

"In the past, merchants bought grain from peasants, and they agreed and signed a contract before the autumn harvest;

"On the day of the autumn harvest, the merchants went directly back to the cart carrying the grain and waited at the edge of the field."

"As long as the government collects the agricultural tax, the remaining grain will be transported directly from the field by the merchant according to the previous agreement, and the grain payment will be settled on the spot."

"It is precisely because of this that the peasants accept the merchants to buy low and sell high, and sell the grain that the merchants bought at a low price after the autumn and sell it back to the peasants at a higher price after the spring of the second year······

···

"But I'm afraid the prince said that he wouldn't do this."

"Governor Zhisu, I'm afraid that the people will let the people send their own grain from the edge of the field to the government to sell."

"—It's very inconvenient for the peasants."

···

"In the past, if merchants bullied farmers when buying grain, then farmers could go to the government to complain;"

"Knowing that it is a dispute between farmers and merchants, the government often makes decisions for the farmers."

"But if in the future, all the peasants' grain is sold to the governor of Zhisu, what if there is a dispute?"

"—Do the peasants want to go to the government and sue the governor of Su?"

"——I learned that it was a dispute between the governor and the peasants, and the government, would it still be the decision for the peasants???

"Come to think of it, it won't be like this······"

···

"The local government, let alone the peasants' masters;"

"I'm afraid that even the government itself doesn't dare to provoke Captain Zhisu."

"When this kind of thing happens many times, and it has not been paid attention to by the court for many years, then the governor of Su will bully the peasants by buying grain, and I am afraid it will become the 'long-standing' norm."

"At that time, the good government promoted by the prince to stabilize food prices may become a bad government that will increase the burden on the peasants."

"If it damages the prestige of the crown prince and even His Majesty, it will be more than worth the loss······"