"What? Fan Yang's Lu family and Zhao Jun's Li family also participated in the fund-raising meeting?"
In the palace, Queen Changsun's exclamation instantly attracted Li Er's attention, and he couldn't help but exclaim.
When he and Xiao Yu were in the Ganlu Hall, after Li Er saw the Lantian County government donated 10,000 yuan, he took advantage of the situation to discuss the "Getting Rich" in Lantian County with Xiao Yu, and then he went directly to the harem. , he did not read the last few lines of the account book carefully, so he had no idea that Lu Chengqing and Li Jingxuan participated in the fund-raising meeting!
Listening to Li Er's question, Empress Changsun pointed to the last two lines of small characters on the account book and said, "Yes! It is written in this account book that each of the Lu family and the Li family of Zhao County donated 30,000 yuan. It's really strange. They Didn't these aristocratic families always have their nostrils turned upward in the past? Why are they so kind now and donating so much money to the court?"
At the end of the sentence, Empress Changsun couldn't help but sigh a few words.
When Li Erxun asked, he saw the last two lines of the account book clearly written: "Mr. Fan Yang, Lu, donated 30,000 guan! Mrs. Li, Zhaojun, donated 30,000 guan!"
"Huh! These people are just wallflowers! Whichever side is stronger, they will naturally side with you!"
Li Er frowned and snorted coldly: "A mere 30,000 yuan is just like making me forget what they did before and relax my vigilance against them. What a wishful thinking!"
Queen Changsun asked doubtfully: "Your Majesty, do you think the Lu family and the Li family donated money at the fund-raising meeting this time because they want to make peace with the court?"
"Make peace?"
Li Er shook his head and said: "Rather than making peace, it is better to say that I want to temporarily lower my vigilance towards their two major families. In the battle of Guancheng, the three strongest families, Qinghe Cui, Boling Cui, and Xingyang Zheng. They were all defeated and executed. The Lu family and Zhaojun Li family must have felt the crisis, right? However, this situation is only temporary. I believe that once the court becomes weak, these two families will immediately turn against each other and return to their original nostrils. The arrogant and arrogant thousand-year-old family!"
Empress Changsun nodded thoughtfully, but then she smiled and said: "Your Majesty is right, but no matter what, the Zheng and Li families donated 60,000 yuan this time, which can somewhat alleviate the current pressure of the court. As a matter of urgency, they can be regarded as helping the imperial court to support the army. When the Tang Dynasty returns from its northern expedition to the grasslands, the imperial power will be at its peak. I believe that even the Zheng and Li families will not dare to have second thoughts by then, right?"
Hearing this, Li Er pondered for a moment, then laughed heartily and said: "Haha! What Guanyin said is true. No matter whether these two families have evil intentions or not, these 60,000 guan are all real money. They were given for free." How can the court not accept the money?"
The couple looked at each other and smiled.
Lu Chengqing and Li Jingxuan, who were staying at the Longmen Inn in Lantian County, did not know the conversation between Li Er and Empress Changsun. Otherwise, these two people would have shouted "this wave of blood loss" or "have been fooled", and then become extremely depressed!
Although they did participate in the fund-raising meeting to gain favor with the court and let the court relax their vigilance towards the Lu and Li families, Li Er and Queen Changsun saw through their purpose effortlessly, which was not fun. Got it!
"Brother Lu, this Lantian County is really different from other places. The city is lined with shops and streets. All the streets are said to be made of cement developed by Qiquge Workshop. And this Longmen Inn, whether in Zhaojun or There is no inn in Fan Yang that is as majestic and majestic as this one. Of course, the most important thing is to stay comfortably."
In the guest room on the third floor, Li Jingxuan sighed to Lu Chengqing sitting next to him.
Everything about the Longmen Inn has somewhat subverted the perception of Li Jingxuan, a young man from an aristocratic family. The bright and large windows, the floor as smooth as a mirror, the porcelain-white jade-free latrines without any odor, and the faucets that can automatically discharge water, all of these Li Jingxuan, the eldest son of the Li family in Zhao County, had never seen anything like this before. At this moment, Li Jingxuan even had such a ridiculous feeling in his heart: This Longmen Inn is actually more comfortable than the one he stayed at home!
It was precisely because of this that he was so emotional.
Hearing this, Lu Chengqing shook his head solemnly and said, "Jingxuan, you only saw the surface, but you didn't see what's hidden inside Lantian County. This is the really scary place!"
"Brother Lu, what do you mean by this?"
After hearing what Lu Chengqing said, Li Jingxuan also put away the smile on his face, his expression became serious, and he asked.
Lu Chengqing was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "As you said, Lantian County is full of shops and criss-crossed streets. If it weren't for the fact that the county seat of Lantian County is far less large than Chang'an City, I'm afraid Lantian County might be more prosperous than Chang'an City! And it is said that in Before we arrived, the magistrate of Lantian County actually came to the fund-raising meeting with 10,000 yuan.
Ten thousand guan is nothing in the eyes of you and me, but for a medium-sized county, I'm afraid it won't be able to collect 10,000 guan in taxes a year! But why can the Lantian County Government take it out so easily? Jingxuan, do you know the deeper meaning? "
Hearing this, Li Jingxuan frowned deeply. After pondering for a moment, he said in a deep voice:
"Business in Lantian County is booming. I heard previously that the Lantian County government established a Commerce Department at the beginning of this year to manage commerce in the county and create a good business environment for merchants. However, on the other hand, the Commerce Department has adjusted the commercial tax rate to a whole It has increased five times! It has only been half a year now. Could it be that the Lantian County County Government has collected 10,000 yuan of business tax through the Commerce Department in this half-year period? "
Although Li Jingxuan is the eldest son of the Li family in Zhao County, he is by no means one of those aloof and unconventional young men from aristocratic families. He understands very well what it is like for a county to collect 10,000 yuan in taxes in half a year. This is not even an ordinary son. An achievement that even the top counties can hardly achieve!
A year ago, Lantian County was just a middle-ranking county in the Tang Dynasty!
"It may be much more than this Wan Guan!"
Lu Chengqing shook his head again and said: "I heard that the magistrate of Lantian County once said when making the donation that Yong'an Hou, the feudal lord, does not take any of the taxes collected by Lantian County every year. All taxes in Lantian County must come from the people. , used for the people, that is to say, the criss-crossing cement roads we saw in the city were all built by the Lantian County government using taxes collected! Do you know how much this costs? Jingxuan, do you know ?”
"What? So, doesn't the tax collected by Lantian County in half a year far exceed 10,000 yuan? Then its tax revenue in a year... "
At this point, Li Jingxuan seemed to have thought of something and did not dare to say any more.
Lu Chengqing helped him and said: "In the first year when Lantian County established the Commerce Department, the taxes collected by Lantian County's county government should be far more than 30,000 yuan. Of course, if this momentum continues, it will definitely be even more in the second and third years. Many, because the business environment in Lantian County is getting better and better, and it can also attract more businessmen to do business here! Just imagine if there could be dozens more like Lantian County among the more than 1,500 counties in the Tang Dynasty. In the county seat, how wealthy the imperial court will be and how stable the imperial power will be. If the family wants to shake this mountain boulder again, it will probably be harder than climbing to the sky!"
Hearing this, Li Jingxuan said with an ugly face: "Many of the elders in my clan are still dreaming of the dream of losing both sides in the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks. They imagine that the snipe and the clam will fight each other, and the Li family will reap the benefits. But they never thought that today's imperial army has many generals, no shortage of military rations, and no shortage of armor and equipment. There are also peerless generals like Li Jing, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, and Yuchi Jingde. Although the Turks are strong, they want to It would not be easy to seriously weaken such a powerful Tang court!
Moreover, the elders in the clan only thought about the fight between snipe and clam and the fisherman's profit, but they never thought about how Li Shimin's reputation would be soaring if the Tang Dynasty defeated the Turks, and how powerful the Tang court would be? At that time, if our two aristocratic families go to show our goodwill to the imperial court, will the imperial court, which has just defeated the Turks, accept our overtures? "
Lu Chengqing nodded and agreed: "Jingxuan, what you said makes sense. Some elders in our family lack a sense of worry. In their minds, the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes are still unparalleled, but they don't know that now The world has changed! After seeing Lantian County, which has undergone earth-shaking changes today, I feel even more that it is a wise move for us to change the route from Qizhou to attend the fund-raising meeting this time!"
Lu Chengqing's tone revealed helplessness and joy, but Li Jingxuan sighed in agreement and said, "What Brother Lu said is also what I think!"
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