Of course, politics requires tolerance, but when it is time to advance bravely, you must also make decisive decisions. Li Xian was well versed in this idea. Although Empress Wu was powerful at this time, it was just a cloud, let alone her presence. There is almost no local foundation to speak of, and even the strength in the court is not enough to occupy a dominant position. All they can rely on is Gaozong's favor. As for Jia Chaoyin and others, they are all clowns and cannot be lifted up at all. It was a big wave, especially when Emperor Gaozong wanted to recruit Li Xian to balance the situation in the court. Li Xian was not afraid of publicly posing a political dispute with Empress Wu.
"Good, very good. Since Xian'er is so confident, I would like to see if Xian'er has any clever strategies to deal with the disaster."
Empress Wu has become accustomed to it over the years, and she has never encountered any big challenges. Now being contradicted by Li Xian, her lungs almost exploded, but after all, Empress Wu is Empress Wu, no matter how angry she is, But he didn't show any signs of losing his composure. He just nodded calmly and said something meaningful.
"Don't worry, my mother. Since my son has the courage to speak out, he can certainly bear it. I would like to ask my mother to fulfill my proposal."
Li Xian was too aware of Empress Wu's character, so how could he not know that she was clinging to the disaster in front of her, and that she was just trying to avoid the seriousness and take it lightly, so she didn't follow her intention, so he replied with a smile.
"uh-huh."
Facing Li Xian's pressing step by step, Empress Wu could hardly contain her anger. However, Li Xian was impeccable in both his words and etiquette. Even if Empress Wu wanted to get angry, she couldn't. Seeing an excuse, I had no choice but to say something noncommittal, turned my face slightly to look at Gaozong, and put on a posture of respectfully listening to Gaozong's decision.
"Xian'er, the disaster is very serious now. It must not be a joke. If there is a slight mistake, the disaster may be huge. Since Xian'er said that he can bear it, I believe it. However, the matter is very important, but I am very worried about it. , Xian'er, would you mind telling me how to deal with it?"
When Li Xian and Empress Wu had a head-to-head confrontation, Gaozong was very worried about Li Xian. He was afraid that Li Xian would not be able to stop Empress Wu's power. If so, Gaozong had high hopes for the balance. Dao was afraid that he would go bankrupt, but fortunately Li Xian stood up, which made Gaozong slightly relieved. However, he still had some doubts about Li Xian's disaster relief plan. Before he knew Li Xian's trump card, he also Not daring to agree to Li Xian's request easily, he asked cautiously.
"So that my father will know that the reason why I dare to say that I will take this matter is because of the strong support of Deng Da, the shopkeeper of 'Dengji Company'. With his help, there is no need to worry about the disaster relief. If my father does not believe it, you can call Come here and you will know the basics once you ask!"
Li Xian was very ambitious and was never polite when he could get something. He had just asked for a reward for Lin Hu, and now he was trying to get a share for Deng Cheng. Of course, this move was also for the upcoming full-loaded people. Give the grain fleet a reasonable explanation to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Well, that's fine, then just come and meet me."
Gaozong received Confucian education since he was a child, and he had always looked down upon merchants. Even though Deng Cheng's contribution was not small, Gaozong didn't really take it to heart. A few words of verbal praise were enough. Do you want Gaozong to give him a chance to meet him? This is not what Gaozong wants to do, but Li Xian has to give him face. After hesitating for a while, Gaozong decided to meet this generous and kind-hearted Deng. Great good man.
"Thank you, Father, for your grace."
Having achieved his goal, Li Xian stopped talking nonsense and hurriedly thanked him. He turned around and waved, and the eunuchs of the East Palace who were waiting by his side accepted the promise and left. After a while, they were accompanied by Deng, who was dressed in green.
Cheng walked in from outside the garden.
"Common man Deng Cheng bows to His Majesty the Emperor, and bows to the Queen of Heaven!"
Deng Cheng was calm by nature. Although this was the first time he saw the driver, the etiquette he performed had already been pointed out by the people in the East Palace, so there was no mistake at all. As soon as he entered the garden, he quickly rushed to get in front of the driver, showing great respect.
The earth worships the earth.
"The Qing family is in peace."
Although Gaozong didn't like to see merchants, first of all, Deng Cheng had done a good job in rescuing the siege. Secondly, because of Li Xian's face, Gaozong would not look at Deng Cheng, and raised his hand with a smile.
He was already shouting.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. Long live, long live, long live our emperor!"
Meeting a driver is not a trivial matter. Even though Deng Cheng had already prepared for it, when it came time to face Emperor Gaozong, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Although his face was quite calm, Xie En's voice trembled slightly and he bowed and stood.
His body could not help but tremble slightly,
"Don't be nervous, Qing family. I've called you here. I want you to explain something to me, and just answer it truthfully."
Seeing that Deng Cheng was so nervous, Emperor Gaozong couldn't help but smile, so he smiled and reassured him.
"The common people will obey His Majesty's will, but there will be no one who refuses to answer whatever he knows."
Deng Chengneng was not an ordinary person because he valued Li Xian so much. After realizing that he had lost his composure, he immediately took a deep breath. In just a moment, he suppressed his nervousness and bowed to Gaozong.
She replied very respectfully.
"Well, good, Xian'er recommended me to you and said that you have a good plan for disaster relief. Can the Qing family tell me about it?"
Seeing that Deng Cheng could calm down so quickly, Gaozong was a little surprised. He took a high look at him, nodded approvingly, and explained the purpose of summoning Deng Cheng.
.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that the common people cannot study and can only do business. Those who can succeed by chance are all due to the great grace of God. In this time of natural disasters, we dare not forget our roots. A few months ago, the common people donated six thousand dan of grain.
There are still 2,700 shi in stock and food has been distributed one after another, which may be enough for three days. In five days, the Cao Min's fleet will carry 88,000 shi and will arrive in the eastern capital one after another. Another 138,000
The stone will also reach Qingzhou, Pingzhou (near present-day Qinhuangdao City) and other places by sea route, which will be enough to last more than a month, or until the rain falls."
Deng Cheng quickly organized his thoughts, and then opened his mouth unhurriedly, listing out the countermeasures that he and Li Xian had discussed in advance.
"boom……"
As soon as Deng Cheng finished speaking, all the ministers couldn't help but started talking randomly, completely forgetting that this was in front of the king, for no other reason than because the news was too shocking.
Food may not be a big deal in normal times, but this is a severe drought season. According to the current price of food, it costs more than 400,000 guan, which can fill a large warehouse if converted into copper coins.
Yes, all the ministers present are considered top ministers, but when it comes to family wealth, they may not even be able to get a fraction of it, but Deng Cheng actually donated it all in one breath, which really shocked all the courtiers.
Heartbroken.
"I really admire you for ruining your family and the country in this way. However, if this damages the foundation of your family, it is not what I want to see."
Although Emperor Gaozong lived in Jiuchong and did not do much political management, he was very troubled in order to deal with the severe drought. He was familiar with the current food prices. At this time, he heard that Deng Cheng donated With so much food, I was happy to be able to survive the disaster, but I was also worried that Deng Cheng's business would be severely damaged due to the disaster relief.
"Replying to Your Majesty, the wealth of the common people is taken from the people, and it should be used for the people. Even if the family wealth is exhausted, it doesn't matter. As long as I can share your Majesty's worries, it is the common people's luck!"
Although more than 400,000 yuan is a lot, it is not a big deal for the big "Deng Ji Company". Besides, this money actually belongs to Li Xian, so how does Li Xian spend it? How to spend it? All Deng Cheng did was borrow flowers to offer to Buddha. Of course, Deng Cheng did not dare to say this right now, so he could only answer it with enthusiasm.
"I love you so much, but I feel a little regretful about it. Well, I will make the Qing family the sons of Kaicheng County to repay the Qing family for their contribution."
Emperor Gaozong was obviously moved by Deng Cheng's loyalty, but he was a little hesitant on how to repay Deng Cheng's loyalty. Otherwise, Deng Cheng's contribution would have been enough to make him a marquis. However, We had just made a merchant like Lin Hu a marquis. Now if we make another merchant a marquis and spread the word, I am afraid it will hinder the public opinion. After all, the status of merchants in the Tang Dynasty is still very low. Emperor Gaozong can't help but worry. He would be criticized. After pondering for a moment, he decided to lower Deng Cheng's title to the lowest level of baron.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. Long live, long live, long live our emperor!"
Although the title of the Kaicheng County man is two levels lower than that of Lin Hu's Guannei Marquis, it is a real title. In terms of value, it is not lower than the Guannei Marquis. This kind of reward is not unimportant, especially for a person. This was especially true for a businessman with no hope of officialdom. Deng Cheng was not dissatisfied at all, so he quickly fell to his knees on the ground and thanked him loudly.
"Well, dear, please come down."
For such a great achievement, Gaozong was only given such a trivial reward, and Gaozong still felt a little guilty. Seeing Deng Cheng excitedly thanking him, Gaozong felt a little more at ease, and dismissed Deng Cheng with a wave of his hand. Go down.
"Father, although the food for disaster relief is already available, the quantity is only enough for the ears. Without planning, waste is inevitable. As the saying goes, if a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. I propose to establish a disaster relief command center. , on the one hand, we can allocate all relief materials and supervise the work, and on the other hand, we can also take this opportunity to promote various overseas high-quality seeds to benefit the people. I am willing to take the lead in this, and I ask my father for your permission!"
Li Xian was very satisfied to be able to win the title of two close confidants, Lin Hu and Deng Cheng, in one day. However, those were not the main purposes of Li Xian's various arrangements. At this time, taking advantage of Gaozong's good mood, On this occasion, Li Xian once again put forward his political ideas and set out to obtain the right to participate in politics.
"Well, I'm sure about this!"
Gaozong's original intention was to support Li Xian, so he was not reluctant, but he was worried about Empress Wu's thoughts, so he hesitated for a moment, peeked at Empress Wu's face, and saw that Empress Wu looked indifferent. , seemed to have no intention of objecting, and then nodded in agreement.
"My dear father, thank you for your kindness!"
After all the deployment and hard work, the predetermined strategic goal was finally successfully achieved. Li Xian's heart felt sweeter than drinking honey, and his voice of gratitude was loud and clear...
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