Chapter 144 A little trick to get beaten every day

However, what the Shandong gentry did not expect was that when they went to the market to purchase goods, they found that the goods on the market were several times more expensive than before.

Lu Xuan got up early and rushed to the tea merchant in the West Market.

"Business is good, you two brothers." Lu Hyun heard people talking inside when he was outside.

"Hey, what's the matter? Just fooling around." Another voice answered, and it sounded like it should be the owner of the tea shop.

Lu Xuan walked into the shop and asked directly, "Boss, how much is this worst quality tea per pound?"

"Ten strings of cash." The shopkeeper answered bluntly.

Noh Hyun:?
Isn't it usually several hundred coins per pound? Why is it ten strings of coins now?
"Is your tea made of gold, or is the tea cake made of gold?" Lu Hyun asked, pointing at the tea leaves.

The shopkeeper smiled and shook his head, saying, "Look, where is the tea now? It's New Year's Day and there is very little left. You think it's too expensive, but I think it's too expensive too."

Lu Hyun took a deep breath, turned around and left.

After going to several shops, each one was more expensive than the last. Lu Hyun had no choice but to choose the shop that sold tea at eight strings of coins per catty and bought one thousand catties of tea.

There was no way not to buy it. First, they had to race against time with the royal family. Second, they also knew that wool on the grassland was very cheap nowadays. If they waited until the people on the grassland understood the value of wool, it would be too late.

However, what he didn't know was that the shop where he bought the tea was selling it for 400 wen per pound.

This round trip makes a twenty-fold profit, which is faster than robbing money.

By the time the aristocratic families had collected all their supplies, it was already almost the New Year.

Cui Shi ordered the supplies to be transported to Boling as quickly as possible so that his uncle Cui Tingzhi could lead a caravan to Xueyantuo to start the wool trade.

The Shandong gentry are ready to go and full of expectations.

How can one not be happy when seeing such a lucrative business about to begin?
As the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. As a hunter, Li Xiang was counting the gains this time with Li Su in the restaurant.

"Xiang'er, you are really smart." Li Shu looked at the account book in admiration: "This time, the net profit is as much as 130,000 strings of cash, which made the aristocratic families bleed heavily."

"Hey." Li Xiang smiled and said indifferently: "This money is enough for us to have a prosperous New Year."

"Yes." Li Shu said with a smile.

"I also want to thank my uncle. He made a huge sacrifice this time." Li Xiang looked at Li Su and said with a smile, "Everyone in Chang'an knows that my uncle is henpecked..."

"The son is just like his father." Li Shu waved his hand: "Besides, what is my position in the family?"

"That's true, but it's the first time that our Li family has produced a Hedong Lion like you." Li Xiang joked with a smile, but he forgot that the story of the Hedong Lion was told by Su Shi of the Song Dynasty to tease his friends.

It was the time when Su Shi and Chen Jichang were listening to music together, and he was yelled at by Chen Jichang's wife. Su Shi was so scared that he dared not say a word. After returning home, he wrote a poem to Chen Jichang, saying: "The hermit Longqiu is also pitiful, talking about emptiness and staying awake at night. Suddenly I heard the lion roar from Hedong, and my walking stick fell from my hand, feeling lost."

Later generations refined this poem into "The Lion's Roar in Hedong", which is generally used to describe a jealous wife who quarrels with her husband, and to ridicule henpecked men.

"Hedong Lion?" Li Shu narrowed her eyes. She instinctively felt that this was not a good thing to say.

"Aunt, you are so powerful and a real man." Li Xiang smiled.

Li Shu stood up quickly and was about to rescue Li Xiang.

As a result, Li Xiang jumped up and said, "The big stick will lead you away!"

After saying that, he fled in two steps, leaving Li Shu standing there stamping his feet angrily.

Not only Li Xiang was happy, but also Li Chengqian.

Yu Yu not only has aristocratic families, but also Li Tai.

There was no other reason. Today, Li Chengqian handed Li Tai a copy of Wei Zheng's "Memoirs" and said mysteriously that this was a work in which Wei Zheng, the Prince's Grand Tutor and Duke of Zheng, recalled his gains and losses in the court.

When Li Tai heard this, he immediately took the book and treated it as a treasure.

"But this book has not been released to the public yet. After all, it still needs to be reviewed by Aye to see if it has leaked any secrets of the imperial court."

These were Li Chengqian's original words. Li Tai said that it was okay and that he would only read it himself and would not spread it to anyone else.

Li Tai brought the memoir back to the Prince of Wei's Palace as if it were a treasure. Of course, he did not forget to study it with his subordinates and even called Wei Ting over.

Considering that Li Xin was "not very capable", Li Tai asked someone to call Li Xin back from the restaurant to study Wei Zheng's memoirs together.

As a result, what Li Chengqian gave Li Tai was his personal editing version, which basically recorded his interactions with Li Tai.

"No wonder Aye kept this memoir!" Li Tai's eyes were red, and he was obviously very angry: "Look at what's written here? Ban it! It must be banned! This memoir must not be allowed to be circulated!"

"Your Majesty is right. This so-called memoir that fabricates facts must be completely banned!" Wei Ting also echoed.

Chai Lingwu frowned and said, "But the Saint seems to be very optimistic about this memoir. When Baling went to the palace, he came back and told me that the Saint praised it a lot."

Li Tai pointed to one of the passages and said, "Of course, some parts can be retained, such as this sentence - You see, the king is extremely intelligent, he is fond of literature, he is good at cursive and official scripts, and he has collected thousands of books." I think this sentence is quite pertinent. "

"And there's this paragraph. The manuscript of 'Guo Di Zhi' edited by Wang has been completed. The book arranges 358 states according to the ten prefectures of Zhenguan, and then uses the states as units to describe the history, location, name, mountains, rivers, cities, ancient sites, myths and legends, major historical events, etc. of each county under its jurisdiction. It has extensive citations and is all-encompassing. It is an achievement worthy of praise." As Li Tai spoke, he actually became happy.

"But since it is said that what is said in Duke Zheng's "Memoirs" is untrue, then what is the reason for banning it?" Chai Lingwu suddenly asked.

"Didn't they say they were investigating for leaking court secrets? Just say that one of them leaked court secrets." Wei Ting said, taking the memoir, opening a passage and pointing to the text, "'Compared to principles, the King of Wei values ​​his reputation more. If there is any unfavorable rumor, he will flee on tiptoe.'"

After taking a look at Li Tai's unhappy expression, Wei Ting continued, "He raised the average weight of the princes, but lowered their average health."

Li Tai gritted his teeth and glanced at Wei Ting: "Thank you so much, Zi Jin, we have all read this chapter!"

"But this is not a secret, right?" Li Xin suddenly said.

Li Tai slowly turned his head and looked at Li Xin as if he were a corpse.

Sensing the murderous intent, Li Xin immediately lowered his head and pretended that there was no such person.

Chai Lingwu and Wei Ting also lowered their heads, trying hard to hold back their smiles. It seemed that not only the prince's family, but also the Wei Wang's family, were kind and filial to each other!
Such a filial son!
"Especially this title, it's full of ulterior motives!" Li Tai pointed at the title of the 15th year of Zhenguan and said, "The King of Wei's double life? I really don't know why he would slander me like this! I have no grudge against him! This old bastard!"

"Then what else can the king do? How about going to the palace to ask the saint to ban this book completely?" Wei Ting suggested.

"I'm afraid that won't work. We need to be prepared for both scenarios." Li Tai said after a moment's silence, and then gritted his teeth and said, "The Crown Prince has always been on good terms with Zheng Guogong. I'm afraid that this memoir was written at the Crown Prince's behest. If I propose that the Saint ban this memoir, the Crown Prince will definitely object, and he may even make this memoir known to everyone."

"Are we just going to passively take the beating?" Chai Lingwu asked unwillingly.

"Let's wait until after the New Year. The New Year is the day after tomorrow." Li Tai said bitterly: "After all, the memoir has not passed the review yet. We still have time to respond. After we go back, let's think about it carefully, brainstorm, and come up with a suitable and appropriate response."

"This is the only way." Wei Ting sighed.

Li Xin shrank his head aside. He wanted to make some suggestions, but was afraid that his father would vent his anger on him and beat him up, so he could only lower his head and dared not speak.

Li Xiang certainly had an idea of ​​what happened in the Prince of Wei's Mansion. After all, his father Li Chengqian was very happy today. He took out a few Kaiyuan Tongbao coins from his pocket to reward everyone he met. He even stuffed a few copper coins into Wang De's pocket, calling it New Year's gift money.

Wang De did not refuse, but he still took the initiative to tell Li Shimin about this matter.

If you take money from the prince during any other sensitive period, you will lose your head.

The prince and the emperor are both monarchs. What do you want to do after you took the prince's money?
Of course, if it were Li Guang, he would accept the money without hesitation, and would even feel proud of it.

Considering that the New Year was approaching, Li Xiang asked people to prepare red paper early.

In those days, there was no custom of pasting couplets or writing the word "Fu", people just hung peach charms.

What Wang Anshi wrote, "In the bright sunshine, thousands of doors and windows are replaced with old peach charms with new ones" is about hanging peach charms during the Chinese New Year.

But when Li Xiang came to the Tang Dynasty, things naturally had to change.

He took the cut red paper and came to the Lizheng Hall, intending to ask Li Shimin and Li Mingda to write a few words on it.

As the year is coming to an end and the Tang Dynasty is thriving, Li Shimin's mood is getting better day by day.

The most important thing is that the current prince has returned to the perfect prince he was ten years ago. Old Li is so happy that he couldn't be happier.

Sometimes he still thought that when Long Yu became a distinguished guest and met Guanyin Bi, he would be able to give an explanation to her.

When you are in a good mood, your body will naturally be healthier and you will suffer less from headaches.

As for the fact that Li Shimin took elixirs in his later years, it was simply a last-ditch effort.

At that time, Mr. Li was already terminally ill and there was no cure, so he could only do some side business.

Some people say that Li Shimin's pursuit of immortality is pure nonsense...

There are also those who use this as a basis to say that Li Shimin was incompetent in his later years, which is also somewhat relevant.

In his later years, Li Shimin was too hasty in his administration, not because he was confused. On the contrary, he was very clear-headed.

In his eyes, Li Zhi was somewhat of a coward, and he wanted to do everything for Li Zhi.

However, what he expected was of course correct, except for one thing he got wrong, that is, Li Zhi was not a sheep, but a wolf in sheep's clothing.

He was good at scheming but lacked the ability to govern. The hidden dangers in the middle period of the Tang Dynasty were all caused by the bitter fruits planted during his and Wu Zetian's rule. Whether it was the corruption of the Fubing system, the equal-field system, the military merit system, or the rise of Tubo, they were all closely related to the two of them.

In addition to kowtow to Li Shimin to thank him for leaving behind such a huge fortune, the couple also kowtowed to Li Longji.

If there was no Li Longji, where would Wu Zetian go to govern Kaiyuan? Her reign was almost ruined.

What Li Xiang wants to do now is to let Old Li live a few more years.

It’s not because of anything else. First of all, Li Xiang is still young. Even according to the age at which Li Shimin died in history, Li Xiang is not yet twenty years old.

If we let Lao Li live two more years and serve as a ballast for a few more years, the pressure he will face will be much less.

What's more, Lao Li's political level is not worse than his military level, and is even better. He is a person with natural talent.

Li Xiang felt that he could achieve the level of a flagship product like Emperor Wen of Han, who came out of the Liu family emperor production line, and he would be satisfied with the limit that a mortal emperor could achieve.

As the saying goes, an old man in the family is like a treasure. With Old Li around, Li Xiang feels at ease.

Seeing Li Xiang coming to the Lizheng Hall with a bright red paper in his hand, Li Shimin asked with interest: "Xiang'er, what is this?"

"Spring Festival couplets." Li Xiang said with a smile.

"Spring Festival couplets?" Li Shimin raised his eyebrows. This thing is bright red and very festive, but Spring Festival couplets... I have never heard of them.

"Write some auspicious words on it and stick it on the door to express your good wishes for the New Year." Li Xiang said with a smile: "I have seen it before at Big Ears Teacher's place. He told me this."

Habits are hard to change. Even in the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiang felt something was missing if he didn't post Spring Festival couplets. That's why he invented Spring Festival couplets. First, he wanted to remember his past life, and second, he wanted to invent something.

Li Xiang felt very proud when he thought that people would mention elephants when putting up Spring Festival couplets in the future.

"Oh? What auspicious words?" Li Shimin became interested when he heard that it was Emperor Shengzu Xuanyuan who said it.

Li Xiang spread the couplets on the table and said to Li Shimin, "I once saw a couplet from my teacher. The words written on it are very good. The top line says 'Spring enters spring and spring never gets old'; the bottom line says 'Blessings come to the blessed land and blessings are boundless', and the horizontal scroll says 'Five blessings come to the door'."

"Great, what a great blessing!" Li Shimin couldn't help but praise.

Although the auspicious words in this couplet are a bit rustic, the meaning of good wishes contained in it is more important than any gorgeous article with parallel four-character and six-character patterns.

Taking advantage of his good mood, Li Shimin picked up the pen, dipped it in the inkstone, and wrote immediately.

"Grandpa's calligraphy has improved again." Li Xiang flattered with a smile. He really meant it from the bottom of his heart, because Li Shimin's calligraphy level was indeed unique.

"A flatterer." Although Li Shimin said that, he was still very happy.

Li Xiang suggested again: "We have the spring couplets for Lizheng Hall, but my grandson's bedroom is still missing a pair. Please ask Grandfather to write another pair for my grandson."

(The third update is sent to you. I will go to sleep first and update tomorrow.)
(End of this chapter)