Gently twist the knob on the lamp, causing the wick to slowly rise. Watching the flames as big as soybeans grow rapidly into a "leaf", then turning the knob backwards and slowly shrinking into a "bean". The face of the Emperor Yingtian Shenlong Li Xian was filled with happiness and comfort.

This bronze alcohol lamp is one of his favorite New Year's greetings. Although the price is not necessarily expensive, the light emitted by the light is far less bright than that of the candle.

The reason is nothing else, everything depends on the word "control". No matter how bright the beeswax flame is, it smells good. After ignition, the brightness lacks change. However, Li Xian wants to make the alcohol lamp made of bronze in front of him, and it will become brighter. If you want to make it darker, it will become darker. Just turn the knob and you can do whatever you want.

"Rush..." In front of the Yushu desk, the slight footsteps of a mouse walking suddenly sounded, but the old eunuch Gao Yanfu bowed his body and quietly replaced the cold tea soup on the desk with hot tea. Then he walked backwards to the door and handed the remaining tea together with the cup and lacquer plate to the palace maid who was responsible for serving the meal. From beginning to end, Li Xian did not feel any interference.

Emperor Yingtian Shenlong Li Xian admired Gao Yanfu's eyesight. He smiled and put down the alcohol lamp and tapped the table with his hands. "Supervisor Gao, prepare paper and pen for me, I want to paint."

"Yes!" Gao Yanfu's eyes lit up, and he quickly ran to execute the order. Although he was already over 60 years old, his movements looked a little more neat than those of a young man in his twenties. He only took seven or eight breathing skills to place the complete set of tools needed for painting in a satisfactory position of Li Xian.

"Yeah!" Li Xian nodded at Gao Yanfu, grabbed the brush that had been fed with thick ink, and hooked it to the paper with his own hands. Soon, an old cow carrying a heavy load had already appeared on the paper.

Compared to his calligraphy, his painting skills are obviously better. Although he has not applied any color, the old cow's tired body and tough eyes are clearly displayed. The dangerous mountains and rivers behind the cow and the smooth road ahead of the cow also make the viewer immediately feel relaxed and happy. It seems that he has just overcome a difficult situation and has gone through a thousand miles from now on.

"The Master is so good at writing!" Gao Yanfu admired him very much and immediately praised him. It seemed that his voice was not enough to express his true feelings clearly.

"Yeah!" Li Xian smiled and continued to pick up his pen, adding dark clouds, sun and rainbow to the picture. This made the whole scroll more vivid and more clearly show the difficulties of the past and the prospects of the future.

In the past three years, he has been this cow himself, and the one he carries on his back is the Tang Dynasty. He tried his best to do everything, and even paid a son, and finally got rid of the five powerful ministers, killed Wu Sansi, and even pulled the power of Buddhism from the court. Next, what awaits Datang and him will surely be full of sunshine.

"The Master is so good at writing!" Gao Yanfu praised him in time, and his voice suddenly became a little hoarse.

"Yeah!" Li Xian's nose also felt a little sour. He put down his pen and shook his head with a smile, "Whether the pen is good or bad, I have done my best. Yan Fu, framed the painting for me and hung it in my study. I..."

After trying hard to pretend to be a relaxed smile, he paused, and he continued to add, "The New Year is coming soon, and I have to give myself some rewards. Do you think, right?"

"The Lord must be a wise monarch for all ages!" Gao Yanfu did not answer his words directly, but chose to lean down and bow down and praise him loudly.

"The wise king of all ages is not expected! If you can hand over your mother and the country back, you will clean up like that, even if you don't let my father down!" Li Xian breathed a long sigh and shook his head again.

It was related to the royal grudges, Gao Yanfu did not dare to interfere. He had to walk to the table and pretend to appreciate the painting carefully. Emperor Yingtian Shenlong Li Xian also knew that his words had just lost their imperial demeanor. He smiled and decisively changed the topic, "Chief Secretary, you have recently brought people out of the palace to buy. How is the lively and prosperous level of the east and west markets compared to last year?"

"The Emperor's Day is prosperous and lively, even better than last year!" The answer has long formed a routine, no matter what the real situation is, it is the same. However, the same words are spoken from Gao Yanfu, but they are filled with a strong sense of pride, which makes people feel that what he says is true.

"Well, it's better to be more prosperous than last year!" Li Xian nodded happily even though he had expected what kind of answer he would get from Gao Yanfu's mouth. Then he asked casually: "How about any new goods? Or rare treasures that were not common before? Alas, I have become the emperor and it is difficult for me to leave the palace. I can only listen to the news from you."

"Even if you leave the palace, the officials below will not let you see the truth!" Gao Yanfu murmured quietly in his stomach, but his answer was very solemn: "If you go back to the emperor, my Tang Dynasty is rich in all over the world. The rare treasures that were not common in the past have not appeared on the market for the time being. However, it is almost the Chinese New Year, and many new daily necessities have appeared. In addition to the water stove and stove that already exist in the palace, there is also a wind gourd that can blow wind, which is much better than wind naan. When you shake it with your hand, the wind will continue to flow."

"Feng Hulu, I have never seen it before. Have you bought it in the palace?" Li Xian's curiosity was immediately aroused, and he asked with a wide eyelid and his eyes widened and he smiled.

"If you go back to the emperor, you don't need to buy it. The wind gourd is a new trick specially developed by the Military Artifact Prison to blow the refining furnace. Now, no one sold outside will be more refined than the Military Artifact Prison. The Military Artifact Prison also gave a batch to the imperial kitchen in the palace." Gao Yanfu thought for a while and explained with a smile.

"Oh!" Li Xian nodded with satisfaction, feeling more and more appreciative of the military weapon supervisor.

"Also, there is a kind of date sold by Dashi vendors, which is as sweet as candied fruit." He secretly glanced at Li Xian's eyes, and Gao Yanfu continued to report, "There is also a kind of snowflake salt, which is still above the green salt, and has no bitter taste at all. There is also a kind of Indian cotton cloth, white and soft, smooth like silk..."

I said dozens of types in one breath, each of which is a new product on the market this year. What’s rare is that each type falls within the range of the approximate appearance by Li Xian for a moment of thinking. Without even thinking about it, just guess its color, shape, purpose, etc.!

When Emperor Yingtian Shenlong, Li Xian felt more relaxed after hearing this. After thinking about it, he suddenly had an idea and whispered to Gao Yanfu: "Supervisor Gao, what if you find some reliable vendors, how about setting up stalls by Taiye Pool? It's the New Year, I also want to experience the joy of the people!"

"Master, I dare not make any decision on this matter!" Gao Yanfu was startled, and quickly lowered his head and responded carefully, "The old slave is just a gatekeeper. If the emperor wants to have fun with the people, he needs to discuss with the left and right servants first, and then after coordination by officials from the three provinces, a specific charter will be formulated. The old slave..."

"Forget it!" Li Xian was immediately splashed with cold water in his head, and interrupted with distraction. "I will definitely not be able to pass Xiao Pushe's pass."

"If the emperor just wants to increase the atmosphere of the New Year, the old slave can ask the young officials and the palace maids to set up a few stalls. The goods are all based on what is common on the market, and the prices are also referenced outside!" Gao Yanfu immediately began to worry that Li Xian had nothing to do during the New Year, and he made some new tricks to torture himself, so he quickly added to the side.

"This idea is good. You can implement it immediately after you go down. On the day of the Chinese New Year, I will take the Saint Queen to the market together!" Li Xian immediately smiled and rubbed his hands with eagerness to try. (Note: Non-fiction, in official history, Li Xian did this. He also bargained with all civil and military officials.)

"I obey the order!" Gao Yanfu secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and quickly bowed his order.

Li Xian's shopping interest was difficult to calm down quickly. He pointed to the inkstone on the desk and asked with a smile: "Is there such a thing on the market, how valuable is it?"

It was a Qingzhou red silk inkstone, which had been available in the market for a long time but had no market price. Gao Yanfu did not dare to tell the truth, and he thought about it again and again, and responded in a low voice: "Your Majesty, this is Qingzhou inkstone, which is a tribute, and it must not be circulated among the people. However, the second-class goods are not difficult to find on the market. It is about 200 to 500 articles, and the quality is particularly good, and it may be sold for more than three hangs." (Note: Qingzhou inkstone, see Liu Gongquan's "On Inkstones", Qingzhou is the first.)

"So expensive?" Li Xian was stunned, unable to believe his ears. When he was in Luling, the monthly food and clothing expenses of the whole family were more than ten yuan. If he had spent three yuan to buy an inkstone, it was obvious that the whole family had already drunk Northwest Wind.

"Since this inkstone can be used as a tribute, it is natural to be more expensive!" Gao Yanfu had already prepared a speech in his stomach and explained with a smile, "If it were ordinary people, the inkstone made of pottery can actually be used. The price is only ten or twenty cents, which is far cheaper than various stone inkstones."

"Oh!" Li Xian finally realized it suddenly and nodded slightly. Then, he grabbed the brush, mercury paper, pine ink and other common objects around him, and asked about the price on the market one by one.

Most of those items were exclusively for royal tributes, so how could they be bought on the market? However, Gao Yanfu had to make up a reasonable price based on common sense of life to satisfy his curiosity. As a result, Li Xian became happier and happier as he asked, and he pointed and asked almost all the things he could see in the house. He made Gao Yanfu so tired that he was dizzy and sweaty.

"Where is this copper lamp, how much is the price on the market?" Li Xian was almost inquired, and he still had anger in his heart. He grabbed the bronze alcohol lamp in his hand and asked for the price with a smile.

"Your Majesty Qizhao, there is no place for the people to buy this!" Gao Yanfu was so tired that he couldn't hold on anymore, so he decided to tell the truth.

"I can't buy it, why?" Li Xian was slightly surprised, rubbed the smooth lamp jade, and digged the bottom line.

In his opinion, the bronze alcohol lamp is beautiful and convenient, and there is no smell of oil smoke when it is burned. It should be very popular on the market. Zhang Qian, who presented this item to himself, is known as "Little Fan Li", and there is no reason not to see the beautiful "money prospects" of this item.

"Qizhao, this thing is easy to use. But the gunpowder can only be made by military weapons and has not been sold on the market." Finally, something attracted Li Xian's attention and Gao Yanfu wiped the sweat beads on his forehead to replenish it.

"Oh, I forgot this!" Li Xian put down the bronze alcohol lamp with regret. He smiled and shook his head, "Don't Zhang Shaojian also has a set of refining furnaces at his home? Could it be that all the refined gunpowder was sent to the War War War Warehouse?"

"The Emperor Qizhao, his family's medicine refining furnace was set on fire at the beginning of the month. The new furnace has not been built yet." Gao Yanfu could not judge whether Li Xian's focus was whether it was circulated in the world where bronze alcohol lamps could not be, or whether Zhang Qian's gunpowder was sold privately, so hesitated and chose to tell the truth again.

"Burned?" Li Xian was slightly stunned again, and then he remembered that Zhang Qian's family had been attacked by Buddhism, and his smile suddenly became a little stiff. "I have forgotten this matter! How is his leg injury now? This time he entrusted his junior brother to give me a New Year gift, but has he ever asked me for it?"

"Returning to the emperor, the leg injury of Zhang Shaojian was not seriously hindered, but he was still a little lame when walking!" Gao Yanfu tried hard to figure out Li Xian's intention, but found it was futile, so he had to continue to report truthfully. "So, he wrote a memorial to the emperor, asking him to continue to recuperate at home for some time. The old slave has not heard from his junior brother about other requests for the time being."

"Well, I've already approved the memorandum of his leave!" Li Xian nodded, and the expression on his face was a little unwilling.

As his control over the outside world grew, his news became more and more informed. He had long known that his sister Princess Taiping used the help of the Dashi merchants to suppress the Liushen Business Company. He also investigated many details that outsiders could not imagine through the Baiqisi.

As the king of a country, he has long been accustomed to such "low-level" battles between his ministers. And as long as both sides have not evolved to gather their confidants and Shu Jia attacked each other, he usually chooses to turn a blind eye. Even if the party involved is his own sister.

After all, the conflict between the ministers is helpful to him to discover whether everyone is dedicated to doing things for the country. A harmonious relationship between the ministers will make him visually obscured, and then face the risk of being raised high and becoming a puppet.

But this time, he was planning to make an exception to support Zhang Qian. He would not always make some objects that benefit the country and the people to help him solve his problems. Even if he was a minister of the Tang Dynasty, his sister Princess Taiping stood behind the foreign vendors, and it was worth his abbot to maintain justice.

Unfortunately, from the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month to the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, he still did not receive Zhang Qian's request for help from all the 12th lunar month. He had not even received a message asking for mediation.

This made him very puzzled and itchy. As an emperor, if his ministers do not come to ask for his help, Li Xian could not take the initiative. Otherwise, it would not only make the outside world misunderstand that he was trying to kill Princess Taiping, but it would also make Zhang Qian arrogant in the future.

"Master, please go back to take a leave first and prepare for the opening of the palace!" After all, it was not the worm in Li Xian's stomach. No matter how smart Gao Yanfu was, hesitating, and he felt regretful. He hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice.

"Well, you go down! The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and you don't have to follow me every day. Just arrange someone with vision to serve you," Li Xian has always taken good care of the people he trusts, smiled and gave orders casually.

However, before Gao Yanfu could thank him, he suddenly asked quickly, "Have you heard about the suppression of Liushen Commercial Bank? I heard that it is Zhang Shaojian's property. He has always regarded you as an elder, and he will never encounter any trouble, so he won't tell you!"

"The Master of the Episode, there is only the Master of the Episode, no juniors or family members in my heart!" Gao Yanfu was so scared that he shivered and quickly bowed to confess. When he found that Li Xian had no intention of refuting, he carefully added, "Zhang Shaojian never mentioned the matter of the Six Gods' Business. The old slave was just that when the Master summoned General Zheng to question a few days ago, he heard a few ears next to him. The old slave thought that even if he was really the elder of Zhang Shaojian, there was no need to stand up for him at this moment. What's more, the old slave only saw that he was doing his best to do things as the Master of the Episode, so he looked at him with a high eye."

"Why?" Li Xian ignored Gao Yanfu's disregard for the reason why he stood by and watched with a smile.

"He is the minister of the priest!" Gao Yanfu found that Li Xian was not angry, thinking about the other party's thoughts and explained frankly, "The emperor's appreciation of him is his greatest reliance. As for the Six Gods Business, no matter how many times he earns money, it is just something outside his body. Even if it is gone, the emperor will reward him with some of his own will be enough for him to eat and drink for several lifetimes. Why bother to leave him close and seek far away?"

"Oh! I appreciate him better than his business?" Li Xian was photographed so comfortable. He was stunned and laughed, "Indeed, I would like to reward him some, which would be enough for him to eat and drink for several lifetimes! Haha, that's the reason! I said why didn't he come to ask me for help, but he rushed to give me a New Year gift? It turned out that it was all because of this!"

"I'm just telling the truth, telling the truth!" Gao Yanfu lowered his head and confessed his love, as if he was the most honest person in the world.

"Just tell the truth! I like to listen to people tell the truth!" Li Xian was very happy and waved at him with a smile, "You go and prepare for the palace market. I have nothing to do with you. Remember to arrange more people and goods. Maybe one day I will bring officials above the third rank to the palace to purchase them, so as not to be an official for a long time and not know the sufferings of the people!"

"I obey the order, I will take my leave!" Gao Yanfu's stomach suddenly felt bitter, but he could only grit his teeth and prepare.

"My appreciation for him is his greatest reliance!" He took his eyes back to the desk. The more Li Xian chewed, the more he felt that Gao Yanfu's words were especially his appetite.

In this way, it would be better to let Zhang Qian suffer a big loss after being a subordinate of Princess Taiping. Just think that he spent money to learn a lesson and knew that it was not that simple to be an official and do business at the same time. The more bonds he had outside his body, the more likely he was to be found by others to suppress him. It would be better to give up these external things and be a loyal minister simply.

However, when Zhang Qian suffered this great loss, he should not give him any comfort, so as not to be unable to withstand the blow and be completely disappointed with the royal family. Princess Taiping should indeed hit her again. She had no real evidence for her secret collusion with Wu Sansi. She just didn't want to slaughter her relatives like her mother, so she gave up the investigation when someone argued for her. And how about she, after only a few days of honesty, she actually jumped out to stir up the wind and rain again?

Thinking of this, Li Xian's good mood disappeared, and replaced by an uncontrollable irritability.

His own sister, Princess Taiping, has the most similar personality to his mother, and her desire for power is not inferior to his mother. Although he cannot get enough support among the royal family and ministers, he cannot pose a threat to his throne. However, if he keeps letting him continue to make trouble, it will be trouble sooner or later.

And what he didn't want to see the most was that his family members were crippled. His two brothers died at the hands of his mother, and his eldest son and his most sensible daughter were also killed by his mother's order. In his life, he had seen too many relatives turn against each other. The more he hated his mother Wu Zetian, the less he was willing to be a tyrant like Wu Zetian.

"Master, who is making you unhappy again?! Say to me, I will work with you to find a way to deal with him!" The voice of Empress Wei Wushuang suddenly sounded from the opposite side of the book case, interrupting Li Xian's thoughts in an instant.

"Nothing is unhappy!" Li Xian glanced at his wife, and forced a smile and shook his head, "Taiping is relying on his power to bully a minister. I was thinking about how to deal with this matter!"

"It's Taiping. I don't know who was unlucky this time and hit her blade again?" Even if Empress Wei doesn't like this person anymore, she has to pretend to be unsupporting, smile and ask softly.

"It's Taiping, and I'm in love with Zhang Shaojian's Liushen Business Company!" Li Xian's face turned slightly red when asked, and he felt embarrassed in front of his wife for his sister.

"Ah? She is too much!" Empress Wei glared at her eyes exaggeratedly, then quickly raised her hand to cover her red lips, "Then she may not be able to get what she wants. That Zhang Shaoguan is not an ordinary person."

"No matter how ordinary people are, he can't stand Taiping's plan!" Li Xian knew that his wife was still resentful because of the defeat of Buddhism by Zhang Qian a while ago. He smiled and responded in a low voice, "My sister, if she doesn't do anything else, she will plot against others, but she will tie them up."

"Will the Master prepare to stop Taiping?" Neither party liked it, but compared to the guy who provoked his daughter and hindered his cooperation with him, Empress Wei still felt that Princess Taiping was closer, so she simply suggested to Li Xian with a smile, "I think the Master might as well slow down. Zhang Shaojian's heart is very high. When the Master helps him at this time, he may not feel that the Master valued him. And Taiping also felt that the Master was the brother, but helped outsiders."

"Hmm?" Although this proposal coincided with Li Xian's own thoughts, Li Xian still pondered back.

"Anyway, I haven't seen the answer yet, so the priest might as well take a look. Maybe that young prison can give the priest an unexpected surprise!" Since experiencing the attack on Buddhism, Wei Wushuang has been a little confused about her husband's thoughts, hesitated for a moment, and continued to whisper to replenish.

"Yeah!" This time, Li Xian finally nodded slightly. His slightly plump face suddenly had fatigue.

……………………

"Second brother, Guo Renyi, the shopkeeper of Liushen Commercial Bank, sent a friend to send an invitation letter to all the guests, asking them to come on the day of the Yuan Dynasty or after, saying that there was new goods to be taken out to reward the guests for their support to the merchant bank!" In the abandoned house in the Zhengfangfang, the fat fourth brother Wu Yanshou raised his round face and smiled and reported the news he had collected recently.

"What new product? Can you find it?" Wu Yanxiu, who had just recovered from a serious illness, looked pale, but her eyes were as sharp as a knife.

"I don't know!" Wu Yanshou smiled and shook his head, "At present, all customers holding VIP cards have received invitation letters. According to the observations of the servants, Liushen Commercial Bank is still accepting Hualu's reservations, and there is no sign of a sign that it will be reseller or close the door."

"Just hold on!" A masked Wu family member interrupted disdainfully. "Anyway, he didn't say what new product it was. On the day of the Lantern Festival, he would just take out something to confirm the story. Then, he could delay it for another day and count it for one more day!"

"It should be too ruthless to hold on and then try to change hands when you don't get the price down by Princess Taiping's people!"

"The things that Princess Taiping likes are not yet precedent! It's a pity that Princess Taiping has always liked to eat alone!"

"Well. Duan Huaijian personally admitted that he had withdrawn the capital. The Duke Kui Mansion and Duke Qiao Mansion were both titles that were re-gived only two years ago, and they had no strength to provoke Princess Taiping!"

...
To be continued...