His Majesty summoned.
Gu Jiu could only put down everything at hand and rush to the palace.
Come to Xingqing Palace again.
Xingqing Palace is still the same Xingqing Palace, but the people inside have changed.
Familiar faces before, I don't know where they went.
The people who are replaced now are people that Gu Jiu is more familiar with. They were the group of people headed by Chang En who served by Emperor Wende's side when he was in the palace.
There were even two young servants who used to serve in the Bixi Pavilion, who chose to cleanse themselves and entered the palace as servants.
Gu Jiu shook her head, she didn't understand, a good boy, with his former friendship with Emperor Wende, his future is naturally not bad. Why choose the most difficult path.
Is it really better to be a eunuch than to be a normal person outside the palace
She stood under the eaves, and the door of the main hall was closed.
Suddenly there was a roar from Emperor Wende, "Get out!"
Huh
who's in there
Gu Jiu looked at a servant who led her into the palace.
The inner waiter watched the nose and the heart with his eyes, didn't say a word, and didn't even look at him.
She found that these eunuchs kept talking outside. Once they returned to Xingqing Palace, they would all become jagged gourds, unable to speak easily.
The main hall door opened from the inside, and she saw Liu Zhao walking out.
She blinked, was it Liu Zhao who was scolded by Emperor Wende to "get out" just now
What did Liu Zhao do to make Emperor Wende scold him so badly.
When Liu Zhao walked out of the hall, she took a step forward and asked softly, "What's going on?"
While speaking, her eyes subconsciously glanced at the hall.
Several bigwigs are inside, and Liu Yi is also there.
Liu Yi was kneeling in the center of the hall, and the bosses were silent.
Liu Zhao looked calm, "It's fine. Father is a little busy today, you may have to wait for a while."
Gu Jiu simply dragged Liu Zhao to the side hall.
The corner of the servant leading the way twitched.
Mrs. Zhao, are you being too casual
This is Xingqing Palace, not Prince Ning's Mansion.
Gu Jiuquan pretended not to see the servant's expression of death.
Liu Zhao lowered his head and smiled, inexplicably, his bad mood suddenly became happy.
"Tell me, is it because of the traveling merchant tax and the impeachment of the censor that the father will scold you?"
Gu Jiu blamed himself and felt guilty.
A traveling merchant tax is obviously a good thing, but because of her status, she has attracted so many impeachments.
I heard that impeachment memorials are carried in baskets every day.
Ganqing inside and outside the capital, all the censors in the world are concentrating their firepower to impeach the couple.
Son of a bitch!
Gu Jiu was very angry.
People say that drinking water thinks of its source.
While enjoying the benefits brought by the traveling merchant tax, those censors turned pens into knives and killed her, the well digger, with blood.
What the hell, they are all white-eyed wolves.
Gu Jiu was about to vomit blood from anger.
Liu Zhao laughed, behind his back, secretly kissed her face, "I'm fine."
"How could it be all right? His Majesty scolded you and told you to get out in front of those big bosses. You are the eldest prince, what a shame."
But Liu Zhao said: "Mere face is nothing."
Gu Jiu frowned, "Are you planning to learn from His Majesty and become a shameless person?"
Liu Zhao muffled a smile, feeling more and more cheerful.
He said: "Father called you to enter the palace not only for the traveling merchant tax. Anyone with eyes can see that the traveling merchant tax is a good thing. Those gang of censors are purely nitpicking about our prince. Impeach.
The emperor's heart is clear, since he has seen the benefits brought by the traveling merchant tax, he naturally cannot give up. If you can't give up, you can't let go of the grind and kill the donkey, and you can't punish you and me seriously. At most, it is an order to reprimand one or two, which can be regarded as an explanation to the courtiers.
You also know that the father has only been on the throne for a few months, and his position is not yet stable. The censors' impeachment of us may not be a blow to the father. How could the father be fooled by them and be led by the nose by them. "
Gu Jiu suddenly realized, she just said that the merchant tax is such a good thing, how could Emperor Wende let those gang of censors make a fuss. It turned out that it was just a play.
"You just said that the emperor asked you to enter the palace, not only for the tourist tax? Is there a new errand for you?"
Liu Zhao pondered for a while, "In recent years, natural disasters have continued everywhere, and there are people fleeing famine everywhere. Many of them turned into bandits and plundered everywhere.
Although these bandits and rebels are not large-scale, they are just making small troubles, but they have caused great damage to the place.
In the past few years, the people below have suffered unspeakably, the tax revenue has been decreasing year by year, the trade routes have also been affected, and the prices of goods have been extremely high. The father wanted to rectify the situation, and planned to send troops to sweep it all the way, so as to completely solve the frequent banditry in various places. "
"Did you take this job?" Gu Jiu was a little nervous.
Liu Zhao didn't hide anything, "I took the initiative to ask for this job."
Gu Jiu frowned, "This kind of out-of-scale banditry requires the dignified prince to personally lead the army to quell the chaos. It is obviously overkill. Moreover, the banditry is small and small, extremely scattered, and flexible. Although it is not large-scale, But it takes a lot of time to wipe them out completely.
Once you go, you won't be able to make meritorious deeds in two or three years. With your status, how can you leave Beijing for two or three years. Tell me the truth, are you hiding something from me? "
Liu Zhao hugged her, not letting her see the expression on his face.
He is proud.
Xiao Jiu can always detect the truth from the subtleties.
He is also worried.
Xiaojiu is too smart to be a blessing.
He whispered in her ear: "I will take this opportunity to go to the south of the Yangtze River, and I will definitely return to Beijing before the end of the year at the latest. I will take Qian Fu away, but I will leave a few others for you."
Gu Jiu wanted to push him away, but she didn't.
Liu Zhao still hugged her tightly, "Don't move."
Gu Jiu was annoyed, and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing in Jiangnan? Is there any banditry in Jiangnan?"
"But there are naval divisions in the south of the Yangtze River. Didn't you say that you want to build a naval army? I secretly asked my father for his will, and my father allowed me to rectify the navy and build a large Zhou navy."
Gu Jiu's expression moved slightly, she wanted to ask Liu Zhao, is it because of Zhou Jin that he did all this? Are you going to overthrow Zhou Jin
However, the words that came out became, "You, can you swim? You are a landlubber, what kind of sea are you going to. I am afraid that if you get on the boat, you will vomit in the dark, and you will not be able to get up."
Liu Zhao muffled a smile, "Can't you say something nice?"
Gu Jiu snorted and asked, "When are you leaving?"
"Leave next month."
Calculating the time, there are still more than twenty days.
Gu Jiu sighed, "Forget it, you are the prince, so naturally you can't stay in the mansion every day. You can go as you want, and I will watch over the capital for you."
"Thank you lady."
"Stop talking nonsense. Before you are sure, don't act impulsively. I know you want to kill his mind, but the sea is still his territory at present. In short, you can't take risks, and you can't stand under a dangerous wall. Otherwise, this The wife remarried with the child."
Liu Zhao bit her earlobe, "You just want to die and remarry. In this life, you will be my person, and you will be my ghost when you die."
"roll!"
Gu Jiu was very depressed.
The servant came to remind Gu Jiu that it was her turn to go to the main hall to meet her.
Liu Zhao was finally willing to let her go.
She smiled, "I went in."
"Go."
Gu Jiu turned around and left.
Liu Zhao's eyes gradually turned cold.
He has received definite news that Zhou Jin has returned to sea a few months ago and continues to be a pirate.
How Zhou Jin escaped the arrest and left the capital, Liu Zhao did not know.
But this does not affect his determination to kill Zhou Jin.
Since Zhou Jin likes beauties so much, he will send him a beauty. He wanted to see if Zhou Jin could bear it.
…
Gu Jiu walked into the main hall, and first asked An to salute.
"Free gift!"
Emperor Wende was full of spirit.
Gu Jiu glanced around secretly, Liu Yi was gone, and several court officials were not there either.
She just stood quietly in the center of the hall, and she would never open her mouth if Emperor Wende didn't ask questions.
Anyway, following the principle of saying less and making less mistakes, you can't make mistakes.
Seeing that Gu Jiu was like a saw-mouthed gourd without saying a word, Emperor Wende snorted, "Boss, daughter-in-law, do you know why I called you into the palace?"
"I don't know my daughter-in-law, can my father give me a hint." Gu Jiu was very honest.
Emperor Wen De could tell at a glance that Gu Jiu was pretending to be stupid.
He asked directly: "The censor impeached you for stretching your hand too far and daring to meddle in the government affairs of the household department. What do you say?"
Gu Jiu looked innocent, "It's really wronged. The daughter-in-law's hand has never reached out to the household department, and the imperial censor's impeachment is purely fabricated. If someone else, with a less sensitive identity, puts forward an opinion to the household department and gets adopted, Will those censors still impeach them?"
Emperor Wende laughed, "You are the prince's wife, not an ordinary person. Naturally, the censor will demand you with the strictest standards. Don't be convinced. You have enjoyed the imperial court's offerings, and you should accept the imperial court's supervision."
The corners of Gu Jiu's mouth twitched, "The annual salary of my daughter-in-law is only 1,800 taels, plus 500 shilumi. This kind of offering really cannot withstand the menacing supervision of the censors."
Emperor Wende stared, "Are you complaining?"
Gu Jiu shook her head, "Daughter-in-law doesn't dare to complain, daughter-in-law is just stating the facts."
"So you don't think you're at fault?"
"Daughter-in-law is at fault." Gu Jiu admitted her mistake very simply, "Daughter-in-law's mistake is that she shouldn't give advice to Lord Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and should watch the Ministry of Household Affairs continue to be poor, and watch those idle Beijing officials continue to be punished. Arrears of salary."
"presumptuous!"
Emperor Wende scolded sharply, Gu Jiu trembled.
It has only been a few months, and Emperor Wende seems to be a little more majestic than when he was the prince last year.
Sure enough, it is a living body.
After becoming the emperor, Emperor Wende's temperament changed from the inside to the outside.
Gu Jiu was so wronged that she simply stopped talking.
After Emperor Wende got angry, seeing Gu Jiu's aggrieved look, he laughed again.
"What's the matter, are you still wronged? Liu Zhao didn't even dare to be wronged, so why are you wronged?"
Gu Jiu's eyes were red, "My daughter-in-law didn't know how to solve the difficulties for the household department, so she was wrong. Next time, my daughter-in-law must be careful and keep a distance from everyone in the household department."
Emperor Wende snorted coldly, "Don't talk too much. You solved the difficulties for the household department. The household department and I all remember your contribution. I heard that you want to build roads. Use that earth cement to build roads?"
Gu Jiu hummed and nodded, "I had this idea before. But now my daughter-in-law has changed her mind, she doesn't want to build roads."
"Why not build the road?"
"My daughter-in-law is afraid of being impeached and implicating Liu Zhao. If Your Majesty wants to build roads, my daughter-in-law will sell the earth cement to the imperial court at cost price. It doesn't matter if you even hand over the cement formula to Your Majesty."
Emperor Wende looked at Gu Jiu with strange eyes, "The formula that I finally got out, are you really willing to give it to me for nothing?"
"Naturally it's worth it."
If we don't build roads, we will continue to build houses at worst. Building a house with cement is strong and fast.
Emperor Wende secretly rolled his eyes, and said with a serious face: "You are seriously sabotaging your work."
Gu Jiu remained silent, acting as if she had been wronged so much that her old lady didn't want to do anything, she just wanted to go home and take care of her husband and raise her children.
Emperor Wende pointed at her, very dissatisfied.
"This first road is still for you to repair."
"My daughter-in-law can't fix it."
"Fart!" Emperor Wende was a bastard, "Don't lose your temper in front of me. If you make such a big mess, I didn't punish you. It's already a favor. This first road is from the capital to Luoyang. State. Try the effect first."
Luozhou, located in the middle of the empire, is an important hub city connecting the capital and the south of the Yangtze River. It is the second most populous city in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Luozhou is rich in water and soil resources, fertile and flat. It is a unique place, rich and prosperous since ancient times.
The only disadvantage is that in the event of war, there is no place to escape.
Such a rich place naturally attracted a lot of people.
Many families and bigwigs in the capital have set up property in Luozhou.
Luozhou Academy is famous all over the world. It even vaguely surpassed the name of the Imperial Academy in the capital.
Emperor Wende decided to build a cement road from the capital to Luozhou first, obviously after careful consideration.
If it needs to be repaired, the cement road with the greatest economic value should be repaired.
From the capital to Luozhou, there are eight hundred miles of mountains and rivers. With the current production capacity, this is a huge project, and the money and food consumed are in the millions.
Gu Jiu asked: "From the capital to Luozhou, it's a big project. Your Majesty really wants your daughter-in-law to pay for the road repairs? The project of benefiting the people should be funded by the imperial court."
Emperor Wende rascally said: "The imperial court has no money. It's not like you don't know that the treasury of the household department can run away with rats. If you have a way to draw money from other places, I will strongly support it. I can also get it from my own private treasury. A few hundred thousand taels will be voted for you to build this road.”
Gu Jiu bared her teeth secretly, and then asked, "Does Your Majesty agree with the establishment of toll booths?"
"One toll booth within fifty miles, I can agree. But the guys at the toll booth have to give priority to veterans. This is not negotiable."
When Emperor Wende saw Gu Jiu's road construction plan, which set a toll station within fifty miles, he immediately thought of post station delivery.
This toll booth can be used as a transfer of letters from the imperial court. During the war, it can play a more alert and defensive role.
That's why Emperor Wende demanded that veterans be given priority as toll booth employees.
"My daughter-in-law has no objection, and veterans can be given priority. That fifty-year limit?"
Gu Jiu doubted the emperor's credit, but still followed the rules and set a deadline for charging in the plan.
Charge for fifty years.
Fifty years later, the road was handed over to the imperial court.
It doesn't matter whether the court wants to continue to charge fees or to pass for free.
There are many unspoken rules in the imperial court, but Gu Jiu is more willing to lay out these unspoken rules in the sun and make a contract with everyone.
Even if someone breaks the contract one day, it doesn't matter. Just spend money to buy a lesson.
These days, if you do something, you have to pay some tuition fees. Especially when dealing with the court.
It is really not a strange thing to change the order from day to day.
Emperor Wende said: "Fifty years is not enough, I can only give you thirty years."
"Forty-five years." Gu Jiu bargained.
Emperor Wende frowned, "Thirty-five years."
Gu Jiu said: "Forty years, no less. Your Majesty, you can't let the horses run without grazing the horses. It costs millions of dollars to build a road. Passing a car and horses is not enough. Only three pennies are charged. The year and month of receiving the money can only be recovered.
Your Majesty, at least don't let your daughter-in-law do business at a loss, otherwise who will be willing to be taken advantage of in the future and pay for the court to build roads. "
Seeing that Gu Jiu spoke pitifully, Emperor Wen De said, "You really don't make money?"
"What kind of money do you make? If you don't lose money, you make money."
"Then why are you building roads?"
Gu Jiu said honestly: "I just want to sell cement, so that people can know the magical effect of cement. Maybe there are aristocratic families who are willing to spend their own money to build a road in front of their house. Mosquito meat is small, but it is also meat."
Emperor Wende nodded, believing Gu Jiu's words.
It wasn't until the next year that the cement road was repaired and after learning the monthly income of the toll booth, Emperor Wende knew that he was being fooled by Gu Jiu. Then, a mouthful of old blood almost spewed out.
What does not make money, what does not lose money is to make money, everything is fake, fake.
Toll booths are too lucrative, okay
From the capital city to Luozhou, the most golden road in the Great Zhou Dynasty fell into Gu Jiu's hands like this, and it was still forty years.
Whenever Emperor Wende thought of this incident, he regretted it.
He was buried in a pit dug by Gu Jiu, it's unreasonable.
Since then, Emperor Wende has run his own cement factory, built his own roads, and set up his own toll stations. He didn't even give Gu Jiu a mouthful of soup.
Fortunately, Gu Jiu has the road to produce gold in his hands, and he doesn't care about the mess.
This is a later story, so I won't show it for the time being.