It was rare for Li Shimin to have free time. Seeing that the weather was nice, he came to the Imperial Garden to bask in the sun and relax for a while.
Looking at the bare Imperial Garden, Li Shimin said to Li Mu who was following him: "The weather is slowly getting warmer. Remember to plant some rare non-flowering plants in the Imperial Garden."
Because of Empress Changsun's health, he ordered all flowering flowers, plants and trees in the palace to be eradicated.
But for Li Shimin, the palace was not only a place of work, but also a place of life.
I am basically in the palace all year round, so I naturally want to beautify the palace.
Since you can’t grow flowers, then plant plants.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. I have already ordered the supervisor of Shanglin Garden to collect rare plants from various places and transport them to Chang'an." Li Mu said.
"Well, if we plant some plants then, the palace will not look bare." Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction.
At this moment, a young eunuch trotted over and saluted: "Your Majesty, Lord Ma, the Minister of Commerce, wishes to see you."
"Let him come in." Li Shimin knew that he had no free time.
Not long after, the little eunuch led Ma Zhou in, who was looking happy.
"I see your Majesty." Ma Zhou bowed.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said with a smile: "Prince Bin has always shown his emotions and anger, so what could make Prince Bin so happy?"
"Your Majesty, I have been thinking about how to improve the business tax affairs, but I only had a vague idea. Unexpectedly, a good friend of yours actually came up with a very complete idea, which I think is very feasible. This time I came to see your Majesty.
I came here to recommend talents to His Majesty, and secondly, I wanted to discuss the feasibility of this matter," Ma Zhou said.
"Oh~" Li Shimin said with a smile: "I wonder who this person's name is and where he is now? Someone who can be recommended by King Bin must be a rare talent. I can't wait to meet this person."
"Your Majesty, this person's name is Li Yifu. He was born in a poor family. Although he is not well-known now, I have known him for a long time and know his talents well. Li Yifu is waiting outside the palace now, and your Majesty can summon him at any time."
Zhou said.
Without Li Shimin's permission, even if he is a minister, he cannot bring anyone into the palace casually, so Li Yifu is still blowing cold wind at the entrance of the palace.
Li Shimin glanced at Li Mu. Li Mu understood, bowed, and retreated. He found a young eunuch and gave a few instructions. The young eunuch took the order and hurried away.
Li Shimin asked Ma Zhou to sit down and said, "Prince Bin, why don't you tell me about Li Yifu's proposal first."
"Your Majesty, I just listened to Yi Fu's explanation. It is inevitable that I will not be able to explain it in detail. It is better for Yi Fu to explain it to Your Majesty." Ma Zhou said.
The idea was Li Yifu's. If he told Li Shimin in person, it would give him a lot of points.
If he told it, he would be suspected of stealing the limelight from Li Yifu.
Let alone Li Yifu being his friend, even if he wasn't, he wouldn't bother to do such a thing.
"Your Majesty, Li Yifu will bring you here."
"Xuan."
"Meet you at Xuanli Yifu~"
Li Yifu lowered his head as the eunuch shouted and was led to Li Shimin.
"Caomin Li Yifu pays homage to His Majesty." Li Yifu bowed respectfully.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "No courtesy."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Li Yifu straightened up, but still lowered his head, not daring to look directly at Li Shimin.
Li Shimin looked at Li Yifu without any trace.
Although his clothes are shabby, there is a trace of confidence between his eyebrows.
Seeing him, he still has confidence, which is enough to prove that Li Yifu is extraordinary.
Li Yifu's nose bridge is straight and hooked.
Li Shimin once learned some face-reading methods from Li Chunfeng. Such people are very cunning and very deep in the city.
Although the theory of physiognomy is extremely metaphysical and cannot be taken seriously, Li Shimin's affection for Li Yifu has weakened a lot.
With Li Shimin's government, he would naturally not reveal his inner thoughts in front of Li Yi's government. He smiled and said, "I heard from King Bin that you have unique insights into improving commercial taxation. I want to hear your methods."
Li Yifu felt happy in his heart, but kept a calm expression on his face. He bowed respectfully, and then repeated the method he had told Ma Zhou before.
Li Shimin thought about it carefully and said: "If checkpoints are set up in various places, if the officials who manage the checkpoints collude with businessmen, they can still evade taxes. In addition, this will inevitably lead to the suspicion of exploitation at all levels. Although businessmen value profits over righteousness, it is indeed hateful, but the layers of
If the cards are set up at different levels, merchants will inevitably raise the prices of goods in order to make profits, and the people will be overwhelmed, and it is the people who will suffer in the end."
"Your Majesty, collusion between officials and businessmen has been common since ancient times. Even with the current system of collecting commercial taxes, there is still room for use. As for the problem of rising commodity prices, it is not difficult to solve. We only need to levy less or no levy on biological products.
." Li Yifu said.
Since he dared to bring it up, he had naturally considered all the consequences.
He already had a draft of what Li Shimin asked, and he deliberately didn't mention it when he talked to Ma Zhou before.
Li Shimin nodded and said: "What you said makes sense, but this matter is of great importance and I need to discuss it carefully. However, you are indeed talented for coming up with such an opinion. I wonder if you are willing to become an official in the court."
Li Yifu looked happy and said: "Your Majesty, the common people are willing."
Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said: "Since you have such views on business taxation, I will make you a member of the Ministry of Commerce."
Li Yifu is indeed talented, but Li Shimin is very unhappy with him.
Not just because of Li Yifu's appearance, but because of what Li Yifu just said.
Li Yifu just said that the current commercial tax system also has room for utilization.
This sentence may seem like nothing, but it actually implies that there are many things that the Ministry of Commerce has not done well. Otherwise, how could there be loopholes?
And Ma Zhou was the Minister of Shang. Li Yifu said this, which also meant to belittle Ma Zhou.
As soon as Ma Zhou introduced him, he secretly belittled Ma Zhou to promote himself, with very sinister intentions.
Despite this, Li Shimin still decided to use Li Yifu.
Li Shimin's evaluation of Li Yifu is: it needs to be used, but it cannot be reused.
The smile on Li Yifu's face faltered. Yuanwailang was promoted to the sixth rank. Logically speaking, being promoted to the sixth rank for the first time was already quite high.
When Ma Zhou was introduced to Li Shimin, he was appointed a seventh-rank official.
But many times, official positions cannot be entirely determined by rank.
When Ma Zhou first became an official, he joined the provincial government.
Although his official position is not high, he is a close minister of the emperor.
When Ma Zhou saw Li Yifu staying there, he coughed lightly and said, "Yifu was too surprised and I was a little rude. I hope your majesty will forgive me."
Li Yifu came to his senses and said quickly: "The common people were so surprised that I behaved inappropriately before you. Please forgive me."
Li Shimin waved his hand and said pretending to be displeased: "Why do you still call yourself a grassroots citizen?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Yifu bowed respectfully and thanked him.
Li Shimin smiled and said: "I heard that your family is out of town, and I am rewarding you with ten thousand yuan. I hope you will serve the country well."
"Thank you for the reward, your majesty. I will serve the court wholeheartedly to repay your kindness." Li Yifu said with a serious expression.
Li Shimin praised Li Yifu a few more times, and then asked Li Mu to take him down.