Liu Zhi didn't dare to stay for a long time, so he hurriedly met with Yuan Zhi and left.

He had a good impression of Yuan, honest and honest. I became more and more sure that Hao Xu was a demon from it, and it might be the best choice for them to go to Liangzhou.

There is strict discipline in the barracks, and Hao Xu is a fugitive, so he escaped death and suffered a lot of torture this time, so he must be able to settle down in the future.

After going back, he immediately asked Zhang Rang to find a way to get two fake identity documents, which were sent to Lu Feng together with the customs clearance festival and some entanglements.

He instructed him to send the two of them out of Kyoto as soon as possible, so as not to arouse suspicion for a long time.

As for Su Xiaoshou's side, he could only let Zhang Rang pass the word, and talk about Hu Tuo's remuneration another day.

After doing this, Liu Zhi was quiet for several days, and he had to fulfill his promise to Taifu and study with peace of mind.

If you run too hard, sooner or later it will cause the dissatisfaction of the Queen Mother, and if this benefit is canceled one day, it will be a big loss.

At dusk that day, he went to greet the Empress Dowager Liang as usual, but unexpectedly met Liang Ji.

In front of the Queen Mother, he would still give Liu Zhi some respect and salute decently.

"Minister Liang Ji to meet Your Majesty."

"General, please."

Liu Zhi naturally greeted him with a smile, this guy is narrow-minded, if the big lama accepts his salute at this time, he doesn't know what kind of ghost idea he will come up with to disgust him.

"Today, the general is here to discuss the dowry with me, and Your Majesty may as well listen to it."

It's strange, in the past, whenever the Queen Mother talked about his marriage to Liang Nuying, she was all smiling, but today she looked faint.

Liang Ji laughed, "Now that the Han Dynasty is prosperous, and Your Majesty is extraordinary, this marriage gift naturally shows the national prestige." ”

The first time I heard Liang Ji praise himself, but why did this sound so awkward, Liu Zhi was suspicious in his heart, and it seemed that nothing good would happen.

Sure enough, Liang Ji's next words made his eyes widen in surprise, and he almost couldn't believe his ears.

"The minister didn't dare to compare with Emperor Gaozu Wu, so he compared the old practice of Emperor Hui and hired 20,000 catties of gold, what does the Queen Mother think?"

20,000 catties of gold?

Liu Zhi gasped, he really lost his words.

According to the prices at that time, one pound of gold was equal to 10,000 yuan, and 20,000 jin was 200 million yuan, plus other dowries such as jade, jewelry, and silk.

The total value is 300 million dollars.

Last year, the country's total fiscal revenue was only 7.5 billion yuan, which may sound like a lot, but the expenditure was huge, and there was not much money left over every year.

Especially in the more than ten years since the first year of Yonghe, the imperial court has spent eight or nine billion yuan in order to appease Xiqiang, plus the Xianbei Wuhuan Department, which is also expensive.

Now in order to get married, I spent two or three hundred million dollars in vain, so wouldn't I have to post it upside down this year.

The Queen Mother knows all this better than him, with her mother's family on one side and the country on the other, caught in the middle.

Empress Dowager Liang looked at her brother's aggressive posture, and only felt very depressed in her chest, he had already told him several times before Liu Zhi came just now.

Looking at his appearance, there was no room for bargaining at all.

Taking a deep breath, the Queen Mother slowly spoke, "The Heavenly Family is selfless, and I can't be the master of such a large amount, so let's leave it to the court tomorrow to discuss it." ”

This is obviously a prevarication, but unexpectedly, Liang Ji did not object, and only asked with a smile.

"That's natural, if there is no problem with the court tomorrow, the Queen Mother will probably not object, right?"

As soon as these words came out, Liu Zhi's heart was full of alarm bells, could it be that he had united the ministers of the court in advance?

It's impossible, even if he can win over some people to speak for him, but Taiwei Du should be resolutely opposed.

It's just that why does he look like an old god is there and confident?

Seeing that the Queen Mother nodded in agreement, Liang Ji also retired first, after all, it was late at this time, and the palace gate was about to be locked.

When he walked away, Empress Dowager Liang looked at Liu Zhi, "What does Your Majesty think?" ”

This can stop him, to say what he thinks, he is definitely not willing to give so much, but if he says he is unwilling in front of the Queen Mother, he will inevitably arouse her suspicion.

So he hung his head helplessly and replied: "Everything is up to the Queen Mother." ”

The Queen Mother was silent for a while, and sighed quietly, "Go ahead, I'm tired too." ”

Tian E, a native of the old palace, personally sent him out of the main hall, but when he came back, he saw that the queen mother had already entered the dormitory, and was reclining on the wide and gorgeous brocade couch.

"Say, am I being too indulgent to my brother?"

Tian E was helping her remove the hairpin ring on her head, and she was in a bun, and when she heard this, she paused in her hand, how could she intervene as a slave in this kind of thing.

"Why don't you ask my sister-in-law, after all, the general also wants to add makeup to her."

"Humph!"

Empress Dowager Liang sneered, "Do you think that with so much money, my brother will use it as a dowry for my little sister." He has no money for half of the garden, so he is taking the opportunity to ask me to reach out. ”

In this way, Tian E can't say anything more, no matter how close she is to the Queen Mother, she is just a slave after all.

The Queen Mother didn't embarrass her, she held these words in her heart and had nowhere to say, so she could only vent them.

Over there, Liu Zhi returned to Deyang Hall in a depressed mood, he knew that tomorrow's court meeting would not change anything at all.

Liang Ji must have been prepared, and when the time comes, Du Qiao will fight alone, and the Queen Mother's position is not firm, and the result can be imagined.

This Liang Ji is really insatiable, and it is not enough to take away the quota recommended by the imperial court, so he stretched out his hand directly to the treasury.

Today it will be 200 million, but tomorrow, will it become 300 million or 400 million, and in the long run, the treasury will be empty, and the income will not be able to make ends meet.

Although he is a puppet emperor, in his position, he gradually began to integrate into the role, and many times he unconsciously planned for the country.

There was a fire burning in his heart, burning him all over, and he dropped his book and walked around the room in a frustrated manner.

I only felt that the room was extremely stuffy, so I raised my feet and walked out, and a few temple people behind immediately followed silently.

Zuo Yi is on duty tonight, and the other little eunuchs he rarely interacts with on weekdays, almost like strangers.

knew that Liang Ji was going to make trouble tomorrow morning, but as an emperor, he couldn't do anything, it was too much.

The outside of the hall was dark, except for the two lanterns behind him, emitting a dim yellow halo.

In the era when there were no electric lights, even in the imperial palace, it was dark at night, especially the Empress Dowager Liang advocated frugality, and candles were not allowed to be lit at night in irrelevant places.

Usually he thinks it's nothing, but today he has a belly of fire, and it's useless for you to save those candles, and it's not enough for Liang Ji to stuff his teeth.

I was angry, and I walked a little faster, and I kicked something, and suddenly my body staggered and almost fell, but fortunately, Zuo Yi's hand quickly helped him.

"Your Majesty, be careful."

It was only by the light of the lantern that he could see that there was a loose tile on the road, and he was kicked by chance.

But this kick calmed his head, what's the use of sulking here, it's better to find a way to do something.

Even if you can't change the ending later, at least you have to feel more comfortable.

Looking at Zuo Yi, who was holding his arm, Liu Zhi thought about it.

"Help me go to the bathroom."