After dinner at Princess Lanling's residence, when the lights were dimming, all the account books of Chengyang and Xincheng were loaded back into their respective carriages. The three aunts were fine, which made him feel relieved. It's time to be ruthless when you get down.
The original idea was to let Bai Chun, Jinghui and those wealthy families slowly consume, so that the impact could be minimized and the entire Datang economic market would not be in trouble.
But when he met Concubine Xiao Shu of the Nine Immortals Sect and learned that Yiyang and Gao An alone had hoarded more than 400,000 yuan, Li Hong realized how much these people loved money! Only then did he realize that the problem was far more serious than he thought!
Add up the old money hoarded by so many wealthy families, how much old money has not been recycled? This is an unknown that is enough to shock anyone, including him!
If all were exchanged at the usual rate of seven to eight hundred wen, Datang would probably have to lose more than a year's annual income!
"What has Xue Yi been busy with recently? When are you going to get married? Remember to let me know then so I can ask for a wedding drink." After finishing his meal, Li Hong looked at Chengyang who was sitting next to him and said.
Princess Chengyang and Princess Xincheng were both of the same mother as their father. Princess Chengyang, in particular, was deeply loved by her father. Historically, she was willing to marry Li Lingyue to her third son Xue Shao, which was enough to show that Li Zhi loves Chengyang so much.
Princess Xincheng is naturally the same. Although she has no children and occasionally quarrels with her current husband Wei Zhengju, whenever her father finds out about it, she will scold Wei Zhengju head-on regardless of the situation. After a meal, Wei Zhengju was now in a very useless position as the consort.
Princess Lanling was loved by her father. However, after Li Zhi came to power, maybe it was because of the sympathy for each other or because they both lost their mother. In addition, Lanling's usually indifferent character never gave a hand to the royal family, so she was deeply loved by her father. , and the three of them have a good relationship, so their father treats them much better than others.
After Li Hong came out from Concubine Xiao Shu, the first thing that came to his mind was that if he wanted to ruthlessly collect the old money, he must first check the accounts of the three sisters who had a good relationship with his father. As long as they didn't No matter what goes wrong, other things will be much easier to handle.
At the very least, his father and mother would not obstruct him openly or covertly. Although they would not support him in doing so, they would not oppose it openly.
Princess Lanling's concierge had been kneeling at the door. When Li Hong came out, he heard the footsteps of everyone and began to kowtow to the ground.
Li Hong was too lazy to pay attention to him, and just turned around and said: "Take care of these servants, so as not to ruin the family tradition. They will watch people serve dishes, and will not let you in until they pay you. Although concierges have accepted money for a long time, they cannot go too far. ”
"You don't need to worry about my housework." Lan Ling said angrily.
Just like Li Lingyue, she never stopped talking as soon as she left the backyard. This servant was bad, and that servant was unruly. After blaming Xincheng, he talked about Chengyang, and after talking about Chengyang, it was his turn.
If the three girls hadn't seen that he had grown up now, they would have beaten him a long time ago. When they beat him now, firstly, with their little strength, it felt like they were scratching someone. Furthermore: it is better to save some face for the talkative Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty in front of so many people.
The prince's personal guards were already waiting at the door. Xiaoxue didn't need to inform him, Lanling and the others would inform the prince's mansion. If something went wrong on the way back in the middle of the night, no one would be able to bear the blame.
The torch illuminated the entrance to the princess's mansion as bright as day, and Li Hong, the prince's driver, did not get on board. Instead, he still had to walk back to the East Palace.
The cold wind blowing can clear up the head that was a little dizzy after checking the account for most of the day.
Although Chengyang and Xincheng are elders, now that the prince's guards arrive, they must abide by the prince's etiquette, so they have to wait for the prince to leave before they can leave.
Watching Li Hong slowly walk away in the cold wind, Bai Chun also came to pick up the prince. At this moment, he was being held in the arms of the prince. From time to time, Bai Chun screamed. Under the firelight, the wolf claws of the prince could be vaguely seen again. He reached into someone's collar to keep warm.
Behind him, Yang Wu and Lian Tie were like shadows, just like the two shadows of Li Hong. They followed behind silently without making a sound. They also walked like a cat and could rarely hear footsteps.
"Is Li Jingmen still in your hands?" Li Hong suddenly asked.
"Yes, Your Highness, it is still in the hands of the servant." Yang Wu and Lian Tie were stunned for a moment, and Yang Wu replied.
"In two days, find out how many important people from wealthy families are in Chang'an City now, and if possible, try to find out how much old money they have hoarded." Li Hong exhaled a hot breath and said.
"Yes, Your Highness, I will take care of it now."
Li Hong nodded with a smile, tilted his head and looked at Bai Chun who was held in his arms, and said, "Give you three days to let Jingwei check whether those great scholars are really as poor as they appear on the surface. Dig at the root and see if they’re hoarding old money.”
"Yes, Master."
The people in front of me can't help with the next court affairs, so we can only make other arrangements after returning to the East Palace.
Although Bai Chun and Jinghui are capable, they both lack some enthusiasm when doing business. The fact that old money still has such great difficulties now has a lot to do with their abilities.
The advantage of Bai Chun is that no one can use the back door. Everything is done in accordance with the law and death is inevitable. The shortcomings are also obvious. The benevolence of a woman sometimes prevents her from intimidating wealthy families, and because of her status as a woman, people unconsciously look down on her.
Not to mention Jinghui, who has more advantages than Bai Chun and knows how to be flexible. But because of his status as an official, he would become hesitant when dealing with these matters, and he would not be as ruthless as Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu.
To put it bluntly, both Bai Chun and Jinghui lack the essence of a profiteer!
What a pity for Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong. Li Yifu has been as busy as a dog in the past few years. The improvement of the household registration system has already made him overwhelmed. In addition, there is also the landowner class taking over the common people's fields. It is impossible to come up with a strategy. Give these to him.
Xu Jingzong is old and has only been in the coffin for the past two years. Xu Yanbo is depressed every day. Although he still comes to the East Palace to watch, he obviously misses Xu Jingzong.
Li Hong thought about it for a long time and had trouble around him for a long time. In the end, he still lacked someone who could understand some economics, act ruthlessly at critical moments, and do whatever it took to achieve his goals.
A cold shout and a curse from the front attracted the attention of the prince's personal guards. Naturally, Yu Tuqi ran over with a few of them without even greeting them.
Li Hong didn't bother to pay attention. On this cold winter night, gusts of cold wind were blowing. Apart from the city's military guards, the only people who were able to wander the streets were drunkards who were half-dead. This has become more and more common in Chang'an City in recent years.
After a while, Yu Tuqi ran back and continued to escort Li Hong forward. The original noisy sound in front gradually disappeared, and he could vaguely see a group of city guards dragging a limp body. It looked like he planned to throw it into a corner.
"What's the matter?" Bai Chun was quite curious, but mainly because he saw Li Hong being unhappy. He didn't say a few words along the way, hoping to divert the prince's attention.
Yu Tuqi walked two steps slowly, missed Li Hong and Bai Chun, and fell a few steps behind them and said: "A drunk scholar said that he passed the imperial examination last year, but was replaced by someone, so he stayed in There is no way to complain in Chang'an, so I drink to drown my sorrows every day."
"Can this be replaced?" Bai Chun asked in surprise.
After finishing speaking, he couldn't help but look at Li Hong next to him, and saw that the prince's face became even more gloomy.
Yu Tuqi said helplessly: "There are many impostors, and he is not the only one. They all have similar knowledge. Some people perform well and some do not perform well. There is no way to say."
"Is it from the Imperial College or Hongwen Hall? Or is it a student from the Chongwen Hall who replaced him?" Li Hong asked.
"Back to Your Highness, this general doesn't know that he just went over to ask the military guards and heard them say a few words." Yu Tuqi said respectfully.
"Go over and intercept him, bring him away from the Wuwei, and send someone to Di Renjie. He will be interrogated by Dali Temple tomorrow. Remember not to alert the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial College, and the Hongwen Hall." Li Hong frowned, thinking: Say no We can definitely find out from this person why those students from the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall hanged themselves.
After Wei Tuqi left, Li Hong couldn't help but patted his head again and checked. It had only been two months since the murder. This scholar took the scientific examination last year and had already left the Imperial College or Hongwen Hall. He You know shit.
"Go, go, let Yu Tuqi carry him over, don't send him to Dali Temple." Li Hong waved his hand in annoyance and said.
Bai Chun looked at Li Hong in confusion. He didn't understand that the prince had changed his mind again. Didn't he want to investigate the Imperial College case
But it's not easy for her to interfere, because if she can be tougher or more ruthless about old money and new money, she won't be a headache for him now, so she doesn't dare to provoke Li Hong now.
When he came out of the princess's mansion just now, Li Hong put his hand into her collar, just to retaliate against her procrastination in exchanging old money for new money in the past few years.
Yu Tuqi walked over quickly with a limp human figure in one hand. At this time, they had already arrived at the gate of Chengtian Gate, and they could enter the imperial city in a few steps.
There are glass-covered street lamps on both sides of the road, and the dim yellow light illuminates the straight Zhuque Street. The majesty and momentum of the Zhuque Gate can be seen clearly even in the cold night.
After looking at the ugly scholar who smelled of alcohol, Li Hong said calmly: "When you return to the East Palace, you can find a place to throw it away. When you sober up tomorrow, we will send someone to question you."
Li Hong realized that perhaps by pretending to be a scholar and the first thing, he could separate the Imperial College and the Hongwen Hall from the control of the Confucius and Yan families.
(End of chapter)