In the blink of an eye, at noon on the third day, hundreds of cavalry escorted a large carriage to Wude Restaurant. This carriage was a stab-proof carriage, basically made of pig iron, with iron plates on the four walls and an iron chassis.
The carriage was equipped with wooden boards, tall iron wheels, and the windows were equipped with very thick glass, which ordinary arrows could not penetrate. Even if a six-stone crossbow could penetrate the glass, there were cavalry with shields all around, so there was no chance.
Li Ye and Dugu Taiwei were sitting in the carriage. Dugu Taiwei was holding his several-month-old son Li Ju. Today at noon, Li Ye and Dugu Ming were having tea, and he simply let Taiwei carry his son to see his grandfather.
"Husband, why don't you talk to your uncle, but to my dad?" Dugu Taiwei was covered with a blanket, close to her husband. She has a beautiful appearance, a tall and plump figure, skin as white as fat, and a well-behaved and sensible personality.
He was very favored by Li Ye.
Li Ye hugged his beloved wife and smiled and said: "Your uncle is the Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of War. It is okay to talk about official matters, but it is a bit inconvenient to talk about private matters. Your father and I have a good relationship, and he can understand what I mean. Talk to him."
It was very pleasant, and I haven’t seen him for a long time and wanted to chat with him.”
"It's a pity that my father doesn't want to be an official"
Li Ye said with a smile: "He is not in good health. Being an official requires hard work. His body cannot bear it. Besides, he is also the Duke of the country now and has a high status. It doesn't matter whether he is an official or not. I think it is better to recuperate at home. After all, he is old.
It’s also big.”
Dugu Ming was already over forty years old when he gave birth to Dugu Taiwei. His eldest daughter was named Princess Jingle and went to Khitan to get married. She was beheaded by the Khitans when she was only sixteen years old. As a result, Dugu Ming became seriously ill and lost her figure.
Better off.
Dugu Tai nodded slightly, "My husband is right, my father is not in good health and is not suitable to be an official!"
Soon, the carriage entered Pingkangfang and drove towards Wude Restaurant
Wude Restaurant was closed for business at noon today. Three hundred internal guards were stationed and inspected everything inside and out carefully. Sentries were posted all around and no one was allowed to approach.
Moreover, the shopkeeper, chef and bartender in the restaurant all went to rest elsewhere temporarily, and the chef and maid from Xingqing Palace took over the restaurant.
The carriage slowly approached the back door. Dugu Ming and his wife were waiting at the door. Li Ye and Dugu Taiwei, surrounded by a large group of female guards, got out of the carriage. After receiving the ceremony, everyone entered the restaurant through the back door.
They did not go to the restaurant, but went to the independent courtyard at the back. In addition to the three-story restaurant, Wude Restaurant also had eight small courtyards at the back, which were of high quality. They entered the Plum Blossom Courtyard, which was a small courtyard that Li Ye often visited.
.
Dugu Ming hugged his grandson and smiled from ear to ear. The little guy slept soundly, and no one dared to wake him up. So Dugu Ming gave the child to his wife, and his wife went to chat with her daughter next door with the child in her arms.
Li Ye and Dugu Ming sat down. They were Weng's son-in-law, and they usually had a good relationship, which was quite relaxed.
The maid served a few side dishes and a pot of tea. Dugu Ming was still in mourning and could not drink, so he could only drink tea instead of wine.
He poured a cup of tea for Li Ye, and Dugu Ming smiled and said: "Starting from yesterday, all the slaves of the Dugu family have been converted to civilians. There are more than 18,000 people in total, and they will all be converted to civilians by the end of the year."
Li Ye nodded, "That's good. Although I also know that it is impossible to completely ban slaves, there will be various ways to work around it, such as criminals not being official slaves, long-term employment in disguise, etc. There are also slaves sold from abroad, but
It must be expressly prohibited in the law. At least it is strictly forbidden for good people to be sold into slavery. If one person is convicted, then one person will bear the responsibility. The whole family is not allowed to be an official slave."
Dugu Ming said with a smile: "Since the Dugu family has been released, they won't make any changes. They will definitely become civilians completely. In fact, I advise my brother that instead of waiting for the imperial court's decree to abolish slavery, it is better to take the initiative to de-slave. It has to be a favor."
"If the master is kind, others will naturally follow you to the island. If the master is unkind, even if the others are slaves, they will not follow you."
"That's a good saying. The key to making people follow you life and death is kindness. It doesn't matter whether you are a slave or not. Tian Heng's five hundred warriors are not slaves either!"
Dugu Ming poured another cup of tea for Li Ye, "My eldest brother has been thinking about what path the Dugu family should take in the past two years. In fact, not only the Dugu family, but other Guanlong families are also thinking about it. Sometimes they vaguely see something.
, but sometimes I’m confused and don’t know what to do? Your Highness is far-sighted, can you give me some direction?”
Li Ye smiled and said: "Actually, no matter which direction you go, as long as you are not drunk, arrogant and enjoying life, or domineering and oppressing the people, I think any direction is fine.
Of course, the imperial court does not support the powerful people of aristocratic families taking the old path of annexing land. It really needs to assess the situation and move in the direction of long-term prosperity."
Dugu Ming smiled bitterly and said: "The key is that I hope His Highness can point you in the direction of long-term prosperity."
Li Ye smiled, "Technology!"
"technology?"
Dugu Ming looked confused, "I don't quite understand. Can Your Highness make it clear?"
Li Ye said lightly: "To put it simply, it means walking faster and farther, with greater output and higher efficiency. Specific examples can be given. For example, it usually takes three months to travel from Chang'an to Beiting. If I want to compress it into one
What about the moon? Yes, the first thing is to build the road. This is a matter for the government. Once the Tangzhidao is completed, how to make full use of the Tangzhidao?
Now that the first industry has arrived, a large number of posthouses can be built along the way, and horses can be replaced every hundred miles, which requires a large number of horses. Then the second industry has also arrived, animal husbandry and horse breeding.
What if it is transporting goods? There are many industries involved here. We first need very strong and durable large carriages, then the carriage industry comes out. Strong and durable carriages must use a large amount of pig iron, which involves mining and
Smelting.
In fact, I hope that the Dugu family can invest in the mining industry and smelting. The weapons supervisor has explosives. This is a sharp weapon for mining and will enable the mining industry to develop greatly. With enough pig iron, we will enter from the Wooden Age.
It’s the Iron Age. Iron plows only account for 30% of the plows used in farming now, and the other 70% are still wooden plows. If all plows are replaced by iron plows, will farming be more efficient?"
Dugu Ming nodded, "I understand. Your Highness hopes that the Dugu family will devote themselves to industry, dig more mines, smelt more iron, and weave more cloth."
"Exactly!"
Li Ye nodded happily and added: "There is another strategic industry, which is the shipbuilding industry. I suggest you go to the Engineering School. The Engineering School is experimenting with steam engines and is almost successful. Once successful, it can drive ships to sail tens of thousands of miles.
Wind power and manpower are no longer needed, and there is no need to worry about the season. In the future, when you recruit workers from Tianzhu to develop the islands, you will rely on this kind of steam ship for transportation. Also, I hope that in the future, all sea-going ships will be built into large iron-hulled ships."
Dugu Ming's eyes were originally shrouded in fog, but Li Ye's words were like a strong wind, sweeping away the fog in front of his eyes. Roads appeared in front of his eyes, and he knew how the Dugu family should go."
Dugu Ming nodded slowly, "His Highness's words gave me a complete enlightenment. I know which direction the Dugu family should go."
Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "Which direction can you tell me?"
"Shipbuilding and mining and smelting!"
"very good!"
Li Ye praised: "This is the way to long-term development!"
At this time, Dugu Ming thought of something and said to Li Ye: "After discussion, our family decided to transfer 70% of Baoji Cabinet Shop to Xinyue and Taiwei."
The transfer of the shares to Dugu Xinyue and Dugu Taiwei was actually transferred to Li Ye's two sons, or in other words, to Li Ye's family.
Li Ye narrowed his eyes, "Is the Dugu family willing to bear it?"
Dugu Ming nodded, "The remaining 30% will be sold to the Ministry of Household Affairs!"
The salary distribution for the entire imperial court and the army, as well as the transfer of large amounts of funds to the imperial court, were all operated by Baoji Cabinet. In fact, Baoji Cabinet had already controlled the money and lifeline of the imperial court. Li Ye had hinted before
Dugu Lie, the imperial court became dependent on Baoji Cabinet.
Dugu Lie understood as expected, but it was impossible for them to give such assets of hundreds of thousands of dollars directly to the court. The family negotiated and sold 30% of them to the court, and the remaining 70% to the two princesses. In fact, it was
It was given to Li Ye's family.
As for whether Li Ye should hand everything over to the imperial court, that is none of their family's business.