Wu Mei smiled and took Li Zhi's arm, pulled Li Zhi to the sand table again, then pointed at the sand table and explained: "Look again, what is the difference between this and the previous one?"
"If you don't look, I won't agree to it anyway. It's just nonsense." Li Zhi was still angry and angry, without even glancing at the sand table.
Wu Mei looked at the increasingly "willful" Li Zhi in a funny way, and could only sigh and said gently: "Now Li Hong has changed his strategy, and the city wall will not be demolished."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wu Mei saw Li Zhi turning around and asked in surprise: "If you don't want to demolish it? That means he won't expand Chang'an City, so why send a sand table here?"
"Building another outer city will make Chang'an form three cities: the outer city, the middle city and the imperial city. Today's Chang'an City and the Imperial City will keep the curfew unchanged, but the outer city will no longer have a curfew, and the entire Qujiang Pool will also be included. In the city…”
"Although there are more people in Chang'an City today,... what exactly is he trying to do? How to defend and resist foreign enemies when building such a large city?" Li Zhi shook his head and his eyes finally fell on the sand table.
On the sand table, I can see that the entire city wall of Chang'an City is intact, and on the periphery, simple city walls and various houses or buildings have been built, which are the same as the east and west cities, and two trading cities with a wider area. Sets are divided.
Even including the relocation of some temples, the expansion of Qujiang Pool, etc., the entire Chang'an City looks even more majestic on the sand table.
Compared with these buildings, what surprised Li Zhi even more was that the two-story buildings were scattered on the south, east and west sides of the outer city of Chang'an. Each area was like an exquisite garden. , and those small buildings are more like pearls embedded inside.
Each small building is independent. Compared with the houses in ordinary people's courtyards in Chang'an, where several families have a large courtyard, the privacy and independence are obviously increased. Small gardens have also been dug out before and after.
Looking at such an architectural model, Li Zhi felt a little demented, and even wanted to own such an exquisite house.
Following Li Zhi's gaze, Wu Mei's eyes also focused on these unique houses, and explained to Li Zhi: "These houses are expensive, and they are not just for ordinary people to move in. All the houses in the outer city, People in Zhongcheng can exchange their original houses, and there are even discounts... "
"What if you still want to keep the original house and live in such a unique small building?" Li Zhi asked, looking at the buildings and the wide road attentively.
"Buy it with money." Wu Mei said simply.
"Who should I give the money to?" Li Zhi thought. If he didn't know Li Hong's tricks to make a fortune these years, his life would be in vain.
"The money will be given to whoever provides it." Wu Mei's eyes were also shining.
"So who will pay now?" Li Zhi continued to ask.
"Baichun, Lanling and others are already rushing to buy shares. The Royal Bank, the Ministry of Accounts, and the Ministry of Works are all involved. The construction of the entire outer city is led by the Ministry of Accounts and the Ministry of Works, but the Royal Bank is the major contributor. "Lan Ling and Bai Chun want to invest, but I heard that they have not yet reached an agreement with Royal Bank," Wu Mei continued.
"Isn't Bai Chun the mastermind behind the Royal Bank? Why is she still involved? Lan Ling and the others have been working with the Royal Bank over the years..."
"I don't know, but it is said that there are many differences. Although the Royal Bank is the mastermind behind Bai Chun, it has invested in the name of Taiyi City, and also in the name of Puwangfu and Donggong. In short, the matter is more complicated than I thought. ." Wu Mei began to figure out how big the profit was.
Taking Taiyi City as an example, it is simply a cornucopia. How much money has Li Hong earned over the years? Just look at how luxurious the Daming Palace is and you will know it.
Moreover, in recent years, the taxes collected by the Ministry of Revenue have been enough to cover court expenses, and there is no need to borrow money from Taiyi City or the Royal Bank. Therefore, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Industry are more likely to consider it profitable in addition to supervising the construction of the shares.
"So what does the queen mean...?"
"You are the emperor now, and everything in the world belongs to you. However, since Li Hong took charge of the country on Yuan Day last year, he has made a budget for the entire palace's nine temples and five prisons, just like the six departments. Come on, if you spend all your annual budget money in advance..."
"Then I have no money? If I want money, I have to ask Li Hong to borrow it? Want it?" Li Zhi asked, his voice rising an octave.
"In principle, that's the whole meaning."
"Then you agree?"
"I don't agree. How can I agree to this? But what about the future? He will definitely take this step in the future, because it is indeed very effective for the court to save money. If Li Hong's decision is followed, this so-called budget expenditure will be If you spend it all within one year, you will still get the same amount of money in the next year. If you can't spend it all, your budget in the next year will be the amount of money you spent last year. And... In order to prevent cheating and fraud. At the end of each year, Li Hong will send the Account Department and the Yushitai to jointly audit the accounts, so that every penny has nowhere to hide. Don’t forget, the Account Department has capabilities that no one else can match. "Wu Meifang looked away and looked out the window and said.
"I know this. He has controlled the Ministry of Finance for more than ten years. He has been in charge of the Ministry of Finance since he was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Finance at the age of ten. Nowadays, most of the people in the Ministry of Finance are students from his Chongwen Palace. Therefore, what he does , it’s hard to hide from other government offices when they make false accounts, but why should I make false accounts?”
"What if you take the Zen position, will you still care?"
"He dares? Even if he becomes the emperor, I am still the emperor. How dare you not give me money to spend!" Li Zhi said with a straight neck, as if it were a matter of course.
Wu Mei looked at him speechlessly and rolled her eyes, and then said seriously: "So, no matter what, we have to take action now. You have to agree to the decision to expand Chang'an City, whether you disagree or not."
Li Zhi's domineering aura just now gradually disappeared. He frowned and stroked his beard and looked at Wu Mei for a long time. Because of the hot weather, everyone's clothes were not very thick. But now, the queen still maintains the charm that fascinates him. With her figure and charm, she looked up and down at the magnificent queen in front of her, and said in a low voice: "What do you mean, take this opportunity to earn some pension money for us? You won't look at him like Li Hong in the future?"
"Hong'er's filial piety has always been well known to everyone. Whether it is for me or you, Lanling, Xincheng and the others, without Li Hong's help, would they be where they are today? What I mean is, before you take the Zen position, It’s up to you to take charge of expanding Chang’an City.”
"Then I will take the Zen position?" Li Zhi sat down and stroked Wu Mei's thigh under Wu Mei's skirt, thought for a while and said: "I have already planned the Zen position, but I am afraid that Li Hong is not willing to expand Chang'an City now? I don’t want to bear the charge of treason yet, so let him bear it on his own. I don’t believe that everyone in the court approves of his expansion of Chang’an City, so there is no objection?”
Wu Mei took away Li Zhi's old hand, stood up and sat across from Li Zhi. As expected, His Majesty seemed to be tired of the life in the court and was very satisfied with his current life. It would be difficult for him to return to the court. , but the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was too unambitious!
"Then what do you mean? Do you have to... take charge of the court?" Li Zhi looked at the somewhat dissatisfied queen. It was like this when she was in power. Once someone didn't like her, he could only live in Zichen Palace or other concubines. , Penglai Palace no longer welcomes him.
It's the same now. They are an old couple, and their temperaments have been well understood for a long time. When they saw Wu Mei sitting opposite, they knew that they didn't want to return to the court, which made the queen unhappy again.
"How dare I force you? You are the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Since you are unwilling to return to the court to rule, I will think of a second way." Wu Mei said lightly.
Li Zhi understood that after all, Wu Mei still hoped that he could leave a mark of merit in the history books before the Zen throne, but in his opinion, his achievements were almost surpassing those of the late emperor, so enough was enough.
Furthermore, what the Queen meant was that she hoped that the huge profits from the expansion of Chang'an City would not be divided up by Li Hong and others, and she wanted to get a bigger share of the pie.
Therefore, besides being in charge of the government himself, Li Zhi didn't think there was any other way to allow the Queen to get the maximum profit from the expansion of Chang'an City, so he asked: "Then what other good ideas do you have? Just go to the It’s okay if he doesn’t, so why bother…”
"As a parent, I am also the queen of my mother's world. You don't bother to look for him. How can I be willing to look for him?" Wu Mei rolled her eyes at Li Zhi opposite him angrily. Looking at the relaxed look on the show, she said, Wu Mei felt angry for no reason, and then said as if talking to herself: "I remember Li Hong said a few days ago that there cannot be only one Royal Bank in the Tang Dynasty. If it continues like this, sooner or later it will lose its competitiveness and become If I become lazy and have no pursuits, then why don’t I just set up another bank? Doesn’t it just require a lot of gold and other things to reserve? , wouldn’t it be enough to participate in the expansion of Chang’an City as the largest shareholder?”
At the end of her speech, the smile on Wu Mei's face became thicker and thicker. The reason why she went through so much trouble was because she knew in her heart that she had just coerced Li Hong a few days ago regarding the Minister of Industry. Coercion, I'm afraid that little brat will change the minister of the Ministry of Industry.
What's more, the expansion of Chang'an City this time may be a trap dug for Wu Sansi, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Wu Chengsi, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, waiting for them to be dismissed immediately if they make a mistake.
Therefore, Wu Mei felt that no matter what, Li Hong must not be approached for this matter without purpose, but if the Royal Central Bank is involved, wouldn't Li Hong have nothing to say
Even if Wu Sansi and the others made a mistake, wouldn't he still have the opportunity to speak out for them
(End of chapter)