Datang: Destroy Tang Taizong Li Xiao at the beginning

"impossible!"

"That's not far away, be careful of wolves, tigers and leopards on the way."

After Li Xiao finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to see off the guests.

Seeing that Li Xiao seemed to be coming for real, Cheng Chumo hurriedly stopped him, and said with a sneer, "Actually, I don't think it's a big deal to do some work..."

Chapter 58: The Japanese Mission

Time flies, and three days have passed.

Lantian Villa has started large-scale reconstruction.

Construction workers can be seen everywhere, a scene in full swing.

But Li Xiao was still frowning, because the money was almost spent.

"Uncle Li, show me the bill."

When Li Junxian brought the bill, Li Xiao looked it over carefully, and his expression was even more helpless.

It is also the first time for him to engage in such a large-scale construction.

Therefore, there was a big mistake in the estimation of money.

Most of the more than 2000 taels of silver were used to buy materials for remodeling the house and the cost of hiring coolies, and the rest of the money was only enough to buy a little professional equipment and tools.

It is impossible to mass-produce the god arm crossbow, or to make flintlock guns.

Besides.

In the past three days, Li Xiao bought some melons, fruits and food, and started brewing wine, but the fermentation will take a while.

And his seeds were all planted.

Among them are five kinds of potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, lemons, and carrots. One bag of seeds is one mu of land, and the number varies. A total of 46 mu of land has been planted, and many farmlands are vacant.

These vegetables only need one month to mature.

But now, his development has encountered difficulties again.

There is no more money.

The renovation of the house can be completed in about seven days.

The next task is to recruit some blacksmiths and craftsmen, and purchase a large amount of raw materials such as copper and iron to produce flintlock guns and other things.

At the same time, the production of gunpowder cannot be left behind.

All this requires a lot of silver.

After thinking about it, Li Xiao felt that he had to ask his father for help.

All the god arm crossbows have been contributed, so it is not too much to ask for some money!

Do it when you think of it.

Li Xiao took people away from the villa and went to the palace.

……

at the same time.

A convoy of convoys and troops slowly entered the gate of Chang'an City.

Countless common people looked up from a distance and talked a lot.

"Look! That's the mission of Japan!"

"It turns out that Dongying people also wear our Hanfu, but why do they wear wooden shoes?"

"Why don't their men have hair in the center of their heads?"

"The woman riding the horse at the front is so beautiful. I didn't expect there to be such beauties in Japan."

"I heard that she is the princess of Dongying, and she was named by a Han Chinese, Liu Ruohan. Dongying is afraid of our Tang Dynasty, so they sent all their daughters here to show their sincerity."

"It turns out that this is such a small place in Dongying. I didn't expect it to be quite interesting."

The people whispered to each other, discussing in low voices.

……

Royal Palace.

Li Er and Li Xiaogong, Minister of Rites, are discussing the arrangement of the Japanese mission.

"Your Majesty, this time Dongpu sent gold, silver, treasures and some special products. The main purpose is to get married. Then Liu Ruohan has already arrived at Honglu Temple, and I will wait for Your Majesty to make up your mind."

Li Xiaogong stood at the bottom and said respectfully.

"And relatives?"

Li Er looked at the memorial in his hand and said without raising his head: "Have you checked it?"

"I've already checked, and this Liu Ruohan is indeed the third daughter of Emperor Dongying. Her appearance and figure match, so there shouldn't be a fake."

"What else did you say?"

"They hope that after our marriage, Datang can use their land in Qizhou to grow food. I heard that Dongying is also suffering from disasters, and food is in short supply."

"Hehe." Li Er chuckled, raised his head and said disdainfully, "It's really a good idea to want my territory!"

"Your Majesty, what I mean is that you can't borrow it." Li Xiaogong said in a deep voice.

"Of course!"

Li Er said without even thinking about it: "Go back and tell Honglu Temple that Liu Ruohan will stay in Chang'an, and all the tribute treasures will be handed over to the household department. As for borrowing Qizhou, don't even think about it."

"Your Majesty, this move may cause dissatisfaction on the Japanese side, and now the Turks are staring at me, I am worried that they will do something with the Turks."

Li Xiaogong frowned.

"I don't know what he will do in Japan, and I don't want to know."

Li Er looked at Li Xiaogong, and said in a deep voice: "But I know that it is the prosperity of our Tang Dynasty that has prompted Dongying to have today's marriage. Instead of trying to prevent them from uniting, it is better to improve your own strength."

"I understand." Li Xiaogong nodded.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness, King Yue, please see me!"

At this time, the eunuch's voice suddenly sounded outside the study.

Hurray?

Li Er was taken aback, and then shouted, "Let him in!"

Not long after, Li Xiao walked into the study.

Looking at this man who had never met before, before entering, Li Xiao had already learned the identity of this man from the eunuch just now.

Li Xiaogong.

This person is the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and also the King of Hejian County, who belongs to the royal family.

That Li Chongyi with a bad stomach is Li Xiaogong's son.

"My son sees my father!"

Li Xiao saluted politely, this was because there were outsiders around, and he didn't even bother to salute when father and son were alone.

"Xiao'er, what's the matter?" Li Er asked.

"Father!"

Li Xiao said aggrievedly: "Why do you cheat on your own son? How can you be a father like you?"

A capitalized question mark appeared on Li Er's face, and then he frowned and said, "What are you going to do? Say something quickly, don't go around in circles!"

"Father, please take back Lantian Villa!" Li Xiao said seriously.

"Why?"

Li Er looked thoughtfully at Li Xiaogong.

"Let's not talk about it..."

Li Xiao looked at Li Xiaogong with fearful eyes.

This expression was immediately noticed by Li Er, and his frown deepened for a while.

"What's wrong with Lantian Villa? I order you to tell me."

"Father, this Lantian Villa is a trap. For such a big villa, the daily expenses are astronomical. The child is a pauper. How can there be so much money to fill this bottomless pit!"

Li Xiao sighed, and continued to plead: "I beg my father to take back my life! It is best to withdraw my title as the king of Yue. If others know that I am the king of Yue, I can't even support my own guards. Wouldn't it be embarrassing?" gone."

"what happened?"

Li Er immediately frowned and looked at Li Xiaogong.

Li Xiaogong remained expressionless, and said slowly: "Did His Royal Highness make a mistake? Lantian Villa has more than 100 acres of land, and the income should be able to maintain daily expenses."

"That was before, and now there are more than 200 people in the villa, and there is no money in the account of the villa. Tell me how to support them?" Li Xiao asked rhetorically.

"Whether you can support it or not is your own business." Li Xiaogong said expressionlessly.

"Where did the money in the villa go, you don't know!" Li Xiao said coldly.

"I don't know."

Li Xiaogong was unmoved.

Li Er had a panoramic view of everything, turned his eyes, and said: "Xiao'er, I will give you two hundred forbidden troops, one is to protect your safety, and the other is to test you. If you encounter problems, solve them yourself as much as possible." .”

"Father, I have already found a solution." Li Xiao said immediately.

"What are you going to do?"

Li Er looked at Li Xiao with interest.

"Isn't this here to ask you to borrow money?"

Li Xiao said seriously: "I don't want much, just borrow a few tens of thousands of taels."

Chapter 59: Bet

"Ask me to borrow money?!"

For a moment, Li and Li were both stunned, with incredible expressions on their faces.

"You really dare to say anything."

Li Er didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said helplessly, "The borrowing money is actually on my head."

"Then Father agreed?"

Li Xiao looked at Li Er expectantly.

However, Li Er slowly shook his head: "Go back, other things can be discussed, this matter is absolutely impossible."

"Is there really no need to discuss it?" Li Xiao said unwillingly, "Father, the child is not in vain, and it will be your interest when the time comes."

"Interest? What is this?" Li Er was a little confused.

"The interest means that the father borrows 1 taels from the child for a period of one month. When the time comes, the child returns the 1 taels to the father, and an additional amount of money will be added. According to the length of time, the amount of money will also increase accordingly. "Li Xiao explained patiently.

"It's interesting..."

Li Er nodded lightly, and then said expressionlessly: "I'll go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to get 100 taels of silver later, there's no need to pay it back."

"Father..."

"Xiao'er, there are still a lot of important national affairs waiting for me to deal with, and I don't have time to play with you."

Li Er frowned slightly, obviously a little impatient.

In normal times, he would just give a few thousand taels casually.

But at this time, Datang needed too much money, and the national treasury had almost been emptied, so how could he have money for Li Xiao?

"Father, do you have no money?" Li Xiao said thoughtfully.

"Nonsense, how could I have no money?" Li Er said grimly.